Vampire Diaries
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Nicole Gilbert, the eldest twin of Elena, left her home years ago and hadn't been back since. She holds a secret in her past that could either kill or save her sister. But with Katherine back and Klaus coming, how well will her mysterious past see in the light?
1. The Return

When I arrived at the Lockwood House with Mason, Tyler was at the front door, greeting guests. Mason's big jeep drove up to the front of the mansion and we stepped out.

"So the black sheep returns." Tyler commented on his uncle, although he could have said the same about me.

"Tyler?" Mason asked.

"Yeah." Tyler confirmed for his uncle. It had been a while since Mason was home.

"What happened to you? In my mind you're twelve years old." Mason joked, he knew how old his nephew was.

"Then that's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason." They hugged each other closely.

"Good to see you again."

"Wow, don't I feel left out." I commented from next to the jeep.

"Elena?" Tyler asked, getting me wrong.

"Wrong twin, my friend."

"Oh, my God! Nicole!" Tyler gave me a hug with a smile on his face.

"Hey Ty, it's been a while." I said while releasing him from the tight embrace.

"No kidding, a couple years or so, right?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about your dad, Ty." I put my hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Thanks it's good to see you two. Come on inside." Both Mason and I walked into the house behind Tyler. I visited with some people before walking out onto the porch.

"I kissed you; I thought you kissed me back. Doppelganger hijinks ensued, and now you're going to ignore me? How's that supposed to make me feel, Elena?"

"I'm sorry? Do I know you?" I asked him, smiling a bit.

"And now you don't know me? Really, Elena? Really mature."

"Look I get that you're angry at Elena but don't do something stupid like confuse me and my sister. I'm Nicole, her twin sister." I tried to get across from him.

"You're scared. You think Katherine is gonna send me off the deep end, don't you? I don't need her for that, so don't pretend to be someone who doesn't exist."

"Seriously? Who's Katherine and when did my sister pick a guy who was mental?" I asked him.

"You don't have a sister, Elena! Get that through your head! Is it such a surprise that I would kiss you?

"Apparently it is." I started walking away when he grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking away. He glared at me.

"Katherine, what are you doing here?"

"Who's Katherine?" That was the moment a girl I recognized as Bonnie ran up to us.

"Elena! Katherine's here! She's with Stefan!

"I'm not Elena! I'm tired of people thinking I'm her!" I almost yelled at them.

"Nikky? Oh, my God! When did you get back?" she hugged me quickly.

"Who's Katherine?" I asked her when she let me go.

"That's a long story."

"Bonnie?" I looked behind Bonnie to see Elena.

"Elena?" she asked her.

"What are you doing with her?" Elena walked over to us and pulled her away from me.

"Nice to see you too, sis." I told her.

"Nikky?" I opened my arms to hug her and she almost jumped into them.

"Now to answer my question, who's Katherine?" They all looked at each other then explained everything they knew to me about what was going on in this little town before going to find my sister's boyfriend.

"So, you kissed your brother's girl?" I asked Damon as we searched.

"It wasn't her." Damon looked away from me.

"Right, it was this Katherine chick who looks like us." I nodded my head to my sister.

"Quite the predicament you're in." I smirked at him and followed my sister as she ran to a guy sitting on a bench with his shirt up and blood running down his stomach. Elena sat by him and Damon went another to, possibly to find Katherine. Elena grabbed a cloth and sat next to the man, Stefan I assumed, and started wiping away blood from his wound.

"You gonna be okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it will heal. Who's she?" he asked eyeing me, behind her.

"This is my sister, Nicole, and I wasn't asking about your injury." She gave him a look. He nodded his head to me in a greeting then looked to her.

"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and I let her get to me." He answered her honestly. Damon chooses that moment to arrive after his search.

"I tried to track her but she's gone. Oooh, cover up, Fabio." Stefan pulled his shirt down, only the hole in the shirt showed that he ever got hurt. "We got a crazy ex on the loose." He told Stefan then turned to Elena. "You better watch out, looks like Katherine is trying to _steal your guy._" he smirked at her.

"That's not what's happening." Stefan tried to reassure her.

"Isn't it? I mean it's only fair since I went after your girl." Damon taunted his brother.

"I'm gonna go check on Jenna and Jeremy. Let me know when you guys are done." I shook my head at the two of them and followed Elena as she left. We walked for a while before finding them in the house.

* * *

"So what did you do while you were gone?" Aunt Jenna asked me when we got home. After we'd found them both of them practically attacked me, but I have been gone for quite a couple years now.

"Traveled mostly. I got my degree so no more school for me." I told them sitting on the couch with Elena and Jenna next to me. Jeremy was sitting across from us.

"Did you meet anyone special? C'mon give us the details." Jenna pushed.

"Their was one guy, and I loved him. Still do, I guess. But that's over now, I'm home." I told them pushing back the memories. "If you guys don't mind I'm going to shower and get some sleep. It's been a long day." I got up without waiting for their reply and went to my old room for a change of clothes and plugged my phone into the wall to charge. I jumped into the shower and stayed in until the water started to freeze me. When I got ready for bed I heard Elena call out.

"Damon! _NO!" _I ran to her room and saw her crying over Jeremy. I pushed Damon out of the doorway and ran to my brother and felt for a pulse. Nothing.

"Get out of our house you son of a bitch! OUT!" I yelled glaring at Damon with tears running down my face. Damon looked at us and left. Elena and I held Jeremy in horror and then she noticed a ring on Jeremy's finger.

"It'll be okay, he's coming back." she told me.

"What do you mean? He's dead Elena! We've lost another member of our family!" I reminded her.

"The ring is spelled. If he dies a supernatural death he'll come back." She explained to me.

* * *

Elena and I were on the floor, cradling Jeremy in our arms with Stefan standing behind her.

"He saw the ring, that's why he did it. He knew." Stefan tried telling us.

"He didn't see the ring." Elena insisted.

"It's Katherine. She got under his skin. She undid everything that was good about him." Stefan told us.

"There's nothing good about him. Stefan. He's decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel, he wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish." I told him.

"I hate him, Stefan." Elena cried to her boyfriend. Stefan knelt down next to her and comforted her.

"I know. I know." He told her, kissing her shoulder. Jeremy gasped in as much air as he could and Stefan took his face to look him in the eyes.

"What are you doing?" Elena got behind me to hold me back from Stefan.

"Is he okay? Stefan, is he okay?"

"What are you talking about? Let me go, Elena."

"He's okay. Shhh, you're okay." He let Jeremy go with a nod and Elena let me go. I crawled to Jer and hugged him tightly.

"He _killed_ me! _Damon_ killed me!" Elena hugged the two of us.

"It's okay. Oh God."

* * *

After I got back into my room I looked at my phone next to my bed and saw the only message.

**How'd it go?**

**-K**

**According to plan**

**-N**

**Do they trust you?**

**-K**

**Even if they don't, they'll feel bad for killing my brother so they will tell me everything.**

**-N**

**Perfect**

**-K**


	2. Brave New World

**I just read the reviews for the second chapter and I had this huge grin on my face from reading them :)**

**Thank you Passions2Write winxgirl1997 Yulia.11.11 and Sissymac for reviewing.**

* * *

Brave New World

The next morning I woke to Elena shaking me awake.

"Come on, Nicole. Rise and shine." She said, which I replied with a quick no and rolled over covering my head with my blancket once more.

"Come on. I need your help at the carnival." She begged me. I sighed and threw the comferter off me.

"I thought the canival was Care's gig. Where is she anyway, haven't seen her since I made my dramatic enterence with your boyfriends asshole." I said refusing to say the name of my brother's killer. Sure Jeremy's alive but he should have known better.

"Oh, god. I forgot you didn't know. Caroline is in the hospital. She was in a car accident with Matt and Tyler." I was never close to Caroline but I was close with Matt and Tyler.

"I saw Tyler yesterday, he didn't look hurt. Then again he had his clothes on so I couldn't check properly." I joked with Elena who laughed at me as I got up. She laughed and sat on my now vacent bed.

"Tyler wasn't hurt but Matt broke his arm and Care was in surgery but she's supposed to be released tomorrow morning." Elena smiled at me. I grabbed a blue tank and tight black pants and went behind my privacy screen to dress.

"That's good, the trio will be back together again only you'll have a fifth wheel by the sounds of it. Is Matt really dating Caroline?" I asked walking out from behind the screen and grabbed my black knee high boots. Elena shook her head at my clothing, she never understood why I choose the tighter slightly more revieling clothing instead of looser items.

"Yes, he is, and Bonnie isn't a fifth wheel to us. I mean, she's practically family." Elena stood and handed me my black leather jacket. I was only ready after I grabbed my locket. There was a stone in it, lapis lazuli, and I was given to me by someone special. "Here." I looked at Elena like she was crazy when she handed me a plant.

"I don't do drugs and I thought you didn't either." she rolled her eyes.

"It's vervain, it'll protect you from complusion."

"And that's it? Shouldn't we be taking some in our food then?" I asked taking it and putting some in my locket.

"We do, I put it in some of the spices." I raised my eyebrows at that.

"Wow, safest house on the block huh?" I joked. We laughed and walked out the house to drive to where we were going to set up for the carnival. As we drove Elena decided today would be "normal day". No D word and no V word. I just told her good luck.

"Don't jinx it Niccy" she groaned at me.

"I'm not, El, I'm being realistic. Our lives are to complicated for a normal day." I stated the simple fact as my phone went off. I picked it up and looked at the message.

"Bonnie says to hurry, she's going crazy alone." Elena and I laughed and continued talking about random things we were going to do at the carnival. When we arrived Bonnie met us in the parking lot with some stuff. We walked towards the booths talking about what happened yesterday.

"Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish." Bonnie told us.

"She is our ancestor. Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria." Elena told her, still trying to have her normal day.

"Your vampire ancestor and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would. She was you." Bonnie told her, trying to make her see the severity of the situation.

"I don't know, I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got." Elena told us.

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be us?" I asked her looking at her strangely.

"I don't but I could sit here and be tortured by the not-knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss." I just rolled my eyes at my innocent sister.

"Have either of you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy or tried to kill Jeremy?" Bonnie asked us.

"No Bonnie, we haven't and we won't and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that's vampire related okay?" She gave a bag full of plush to Bonnie. "I'm human. And I have to do human stuff. Otherwise, I'm going to go crazy."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'll focus. We have to make Caroline proud or she will kill us. I don't know how she does all of this." Bonnie commented holding the kids toys.

"Well because she's not human, obviously." I told them smiling.

"Obviously." we all laughed at the comment. We spent the entire day getting ready for this thing and finally it was time. The sad part was that Elena was still in work mode and almost nothing anyone could say would get her out of it.

"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and team Jacob T's." Bonnie told her.

"Okay, I can grab some from the science club. Also we lost a speaker in the karaoke booth." Elena said thinking over her list in her head.

"Hey, all good Elena, take a beat, look around. This is a huge success." I told her trying to massage her shoulders a little.

"You mean we can do more than just freak vampire havoc?" she joked with us.

"Go figure." We laughed at the joke. Elena then looked at a man who was repairing one of the stands.

"Hey, Carter, right? You're with the carnival." she reminded herself out loud pointing to the man.

"That'll be me." he told her putting his tools down.

"Okay, great." Elena was about to speak again when I stopped her looking between him and Bonnie.

"Wow, what do you need beautiful?" he asked Bonnie and she just giggled.

"What do you know about karaoke speakers?"She asked him still smiling.

"Why don't you show me the problem?" he said looking into her eyes.

"Yeah Bonnie, show him the problem." I told her winking at her.

"Okay, come on." she led and he followed her to the problem.

"Lucky bitch." I said as side comment when Elena gave me a look. "What? At least someone might get something tonight." I told her as my phone rang. Hey, I gotta take this.

"Hello?" I asked suspicious. If K had gotten a new number they would have told me.

"Hello, is the Miss Nicole Gilbert?" a mans voice asked me. I recognized if but I just couldn't place it.

"Who's this?"

"This is Dr. Spencer, you came in last week?" he reminded me. I remembered why I had gone in now and the tests he told me he was gong to run.

"Yes, sorry. It's been a long week." I told him politely.

"I just wanted to give you your test results, is this a good time?"

"Yes go ahead." He told me the results and I was in shock. How could this have happened?

"Miss Gilbert?"

"Thank you, Dr. Spencer. It's a relief to know what's going on." I told him, My head spinning with questions.

"Your welcome, Miss Gilbert, and remember if you need anything else just come on in." and with that said we hung up. I immediately made a message to K.

**We have a problem.**

**–N**

Before I could see a reply Damon came up to me.

"Nicole." He greeted.

"Good guess, no go away." I started to walk away when he grabbed my arm

"We have a problem, it's Caroline." I turned and walked with him to a classroom that held Elena and Stefan. Damon told us what happened with Caroline just moments before he came to find us.

"How did this happen?" Stefan asked him.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals..." Damon dropped off the end of his sentence, all of us knowing what the end result was.

"But why?" Elena asked. Everyone thought she had been safe in the hospital.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative nasty little slut." Damon told her, speaking from his personal experience.

"And she said "game on"? What is that even mean?" I asked them.

"It means she's playing dirty, she wants us to know." Damon clarified.

"But why Caroline? I mean, if anyone I would think she'd want to either deliver a message through either me or Elena." I told them.

"I don't know. But I'm glad she didn't use the two of you." He said looking sincerely at me.

"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan told us, she wasn't one of the ones in the loop about vampires.

"Oh I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition." Damon said and I gave him a look.

"What compulsion?" I asked him.

"Talk later. We have to find her." Stefan told me.

"Yep and kill her." My eyes widened at his statement.

"You're not gonna kill Caroline." I told him in slight shock at the suggestion.

"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her." Damon told us.

"Damon, absolutely not." His brother told him.

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..." Damon started.

"It's not an option Damon." Elena told him.

"No?" he asked her.

"No." I told him stepping closer to her.

"Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where story repeats herself. You know I'm right." Damon told his brother trying to convince us.

"We're not gonna kill her." Stefan told him.

"It's the only way." Damon said right before they left. We had to find her before he did. I left soon after with Damon behind me.

After some searching I heard someone crying. I followed the sound to see Caroline crying next to a body with blood all over her face.

"Care?" I walked up to her and she freaked out.

"No! Go away!" she backed away from me a little before I remembered that it was Katherine who killed her.

"Care, it's me, Nicole."

"Nikky? Your timing sucks." I laughed a little.

"I know, hunny. What happened?" I asked looking at the body.

"He's dead. I killed him. What's wrong with me?" she cried looking down,

"Nothing is wrong with you, Care. I'll call Elena and get Stefan over here, he can help you." I pulled out my phone only for it to be taken away from me.

"I can help her." I turned to see Damon behind me with a stake in his hand.

"You can?" Care asked him.

"No, Damon can't. Let me get Elena and Stefan over here." I pleaded with her.

"Yeah, I have to." Damon ignored me.

"What are you gonna do?" Care asked him after looking at me.

"The only thing I can do. I'm gonna kill you." I looked back to Damon angrily.

"Damon, no! We decided to help her with her change, not kill her!" I reminded him.

"Please don't! I don't want to die!" Caroline begged jumping off the back of the truck to stand behind me.

"Yeah, but you are already dead." Damon told her.

"No! I'm not. Don't say that, okay? Just help me!" Caroline continued to beg him as she hid behind me.

"Okay." Damon told her.

"Okay? Just help her please!" I asked him as she kept repeating pleases behind me.

"Okay, okay." I turned and hugged her closely only moving with Stefan arrived and I felt a cool wind on my back.

"Stefan!" Damon complained as he dropped the stake.

"Get away from me! You killed me!" I turned to see Elena standing close to both Caroline and I.

"No, no, no, no Caroline! That wasn't me. You know that! That was Katherine." Elena tried explaining to her.

"No! Then why did she look like you?! And why, why did she do this to me?" Caroline cried again.

"Stefan, we've got to get her inside." Elena looked to Stefan as I hugged Caro again.

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan said as he walked over to us.

"She'll die, it's only a matter of time." Damon said as I moved so Stefan could take her to clean her up.

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight." Stefan told him.

"Oh yeah it is." Damon picked up the stake and rushed over but I put myself in between him and Caroline.

"Nicole!" Elena called out, I was hoping he would just stop and put down the stake. But as we stood there for a while it looked like he would need to be convinced to not kill her.

"Damon, she's my friend." I told him. He looked in my eyes and then dropped his arm

"Whatever happens, it's on you." He said pointing at me.

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"Caroline?" I looked behind me to see Bonnie staring at Care.

"It's okay, come on." Stefan gently pulled Caroline with him.

"No, you're not; you can't be." She touched Care and was horrified by what she saw.

"Bonnie?" Care said looking at her face. Bonnie looked past her to the body.

"Oh god!" Bonnie was horrified.

"Bonnie..." She started but Stefan pulled her away and Elena walked up to her. "I can't believe this is happening." Damon came up to me with a shovel in his hand.

"Come on, don't pout about it, I've got a body to bury." I just looked at him. "I thought you were calling the shots, no? It sucks to be you, buddy." He said turning to the body. I walked behind him as he went to get into the truck to take him away.

He then fell over and took his head between his head and fell to the floor.

"Damon!" I fell to his side to help him if I could.

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." I looked at Bonnie as she stared at him.

"I didn't do this." Damon told her.

"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault." I told her, holding Damon as he suffered.

"Everything that happens is his fault Nicole. You weren't here when he first arrived, you don't know what happened back then."

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Elena asked her. I looked up to see a fire coming towards us.

"Bonnie?" I asked as the fire came closer to us.

"Bonnie stop it!" The fire hit Damon and spread over to me. I started screaming at the pain coming from my arms.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, stop it! You're going to kill them!" I tried rolling around on the ground but it didn't work.

"Bonnie!"

The fire stopped and I looked to see Bonnie looking at Elena angrily.

"Why did you stop me?!" Bonnie asked her.

"Because this isn't us. Bonnie, this can't be us." they looked at us, hugging, then left.

"You okay?" Damon asked me as I cried from the pain. The fire may have stopped but my arms were still burnt.

"Do I look okay?!" I yelled at him. He bit his wrist and held it to my mouth. I moved my head away from him, but he held my head and forced me to drink the blood.

"It's okay. You'll heal, I promise." I ended up drinking a quite a bit before passing out.

When I woke up I was in my bed and completely healed and a note was next to my bed.

**Text me if you want, I'm sorry.**

**Damon**

I checked my phone to see a few texts from K.

**What's wrong?**

**-K**

**Nicole? Are you there?**

**-K**

**What's the problem? Is it going to mess with anything?**

**-K**

**Nicole?**

**-K**

**Answer me.**

**-K**

**I'm beginning to get worried about you, where are you?**

**-K**

**I'm sorry about not replying. Bonnie decided to burn us. Caroline's a vampire and killed a man. Bonnie blamed Damon and I got in the way.**

**-N**

**Are you safe? You told me something was wrong yesterday?**

**-K**

I told K what the doctor told me.

**Will that change anything about what we're doing?**

**-K**

**No, the plan will still move forward. This changes nothing.**

**-N**


	3. Bad Moon Rising

Elena and I were at the Salvatore house waiting for Alaric to arrive and I was going through everything I had learned about Isobel.

"So, let me see if I got this right. Isobel is our mother?" I asked Elena.

"Yes."

"She had us when she was a teenager at dad's clinic?"

"Yes."

"Uncle John isn't our uncle but our father, which would make mom and dad our aunt and uncle and Jeremy our cousin?"

"Technically, yes."

"Alaric, your history teacher, was married to Isobel?"

"Yep."

"But then she met Damon and turned into a vampire who probably will want us all dead eventually. If we go through history correctly."

"Don't know about the last part but the part with Damon is a yes. He killed her and she came back a vampire."

"So not only has Damon killed Jeremy but he also killed our birth mother. How much am I allowed to hate one person?" I asked her and she laughed a little. I smiled at her and turned when I heard a knock on the front door.

"Thanks for coming, Rick."

"Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"

"Elena mentioned you needed my help." Alaric walked into sight and saw both myself Elena and I together.

"You let Katherine in your house and left her alone with Elena?!" I smirked and rolled my eyes.

"I'm Nicole. Not an evil doppelganger but I can be the worse of the twins." I told him. I walked up to him, my heels clicking on the wood floor, and held my hand out to him. He shook it, eyeing me and my clothes.

"We were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan told him.

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Alaric asked us.

"Well, you wouldn't. But your dead not dead vampire wife might." Damon told him, smirking.

"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together." Elena clarified sitting on a couch.

"You said that she had spent years researching this town." Stefan reminded him.

"Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at the time I thought much of which was fiction." Alaric told us.

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon said stupidly.

"Aside from vampires," I said looking pointedly at Damon, "what else?" I asked looking at Alaric.

"The lycanthrope." Alaric told us.

"Wait, like werewolves?" Elena asked.

"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney." Damon said, leaning back in his seat.

"Is it?" Stefan asked sitting next to his girlfriend leaving the only open seat next to Damon.

"I've been on this planet one hundred and sixty some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" I sat next to him. He put his arm around my shoulders and I pushed him away.

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric asked us.

"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founder's day but the Gilbert device did and it affected his son Tyler." Damon told him.

"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's worker. It suggest it's some sort of a supernatural entity." Stefan told him.

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure it out what it is." Elena told him.

"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there, she's technically still missing." Alaric told us.

"So can we get access to it?" I asked.

"Rick, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolf men thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior which means Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed." Damon told him.

"Okay, I'll call and see what I can do." Alaric got up and walked into another part of the house pulling out his phone.

"So, big question, who's going and who's staying?" I asked moving to the chair Alaric just vacated.

"Why would some of us stay?" Elena asked me.

"Well, for starters, Caroline is still to new to be let out on her own. That's the boys territory but ours is the very much human family we still have. Jeremy and Jenna. That's our territory." I told her. She looked down then at Stefan.

"I'll stay with Caroline and your family your three should go. Nicole, Elena, you two should go. This is your life and your family."

"I'll go with them, for protection and all that." Damon smirked at us and I glared slightly.

"Elena should stay, I'll go. I'll bring back anything vital and call you with everything and anything that we need to know." I said. Elena and Stefan relaxed and Damon smirked at me as Alaric came back.

"If you want to go we can go as soon as you're ready." I stood up.

"I guess I better pack." We all loaded up and went back to the house. When we walked in I went straight up to my room while Elena and Alaric explained everything to her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stefan asked me when they arrived up in my room.

"Which part? Digging through my birth mother's life work or going to Duke with Damon?" I asked him.

"Either, both." Stefan said.

"Well, I'm not sure about the first part but then again Alaric seems like a good buffer so we can bond in our anti Damon solidarity. Who knows, I might make a new friend." I said smiling at them, trying to reassure them.

"You know what? Maybe we should wait a couple days, huh? Wait until Caroline is less of a danger and then Stefan and I could go with you." Elena tried to convince me.

"It's okay that it's only me going, right? And be honest because if it's not then I can just stay here and we care take care of Caroline." I said looking at the two of them.

"Listen, I want you both to go okay? I do. You both have questions about your lineage and about Katherine and… look I'm not gonna let the fact that Damon is going alone with my girlfriends sister keep you from an opportunity to get some answers." Stefan told me.

"You hate it thought of Elena going with Damon without you there. That's why I told her to stay, so you don't have to worry about Damon pulling a fast one on her." I said zipping up my bag.

"Sometimes I forget how smart you can be." Elena told me smiling.

"Love you too sis." We were interrupting by Damon hoking downstairs. I walked to the window and leaned out.

"Patience is a virtue so shut up and wait!" I heard laughing behind and below me.

"Nicole?! Are you coming down anytime soon?" Aunt Jenna asked.

"On my way." I closed my window, grabbed my bag and walked downstairs with Elena and Stefan following. Alaric was walking away from Jenna when the three of us made our way to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Elena asked her.

"Yeah, just, men and their baggage." Jenna shrugged her shoulders at us before we went outside to the car.

"Sorry you can't come too, Stef." Damon said smirking.

"Call us if you need anything." Elena said ignoring Damon.

"Oh, I'll take really good care of her." Damon told her, still smirking at her. I just gave him an irritated look then hugged my sister tightly. "Okay, time to go." I let go of Elena and got into the backseat of the car.

The three of us were silent as we went to Duke. I'd been looking out the window the entire time ignoring Damon as he constantly looking back to me.

"How are you doing back there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly." Damon said trying to get me to smile at him.

"I don't think she's pretending. You did kill her brother." Alaric reminded him.

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life." Damon said and I looked from the window to him.

"Yeah, thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing." I snapped at him.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?" He asked me.

"Did you?" I asked.

"Yes" he smirked at me.

"You're lying." I said glaring at him.

"Nicole, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss." I just shook my head and looked back out the window. When we arrived at Duke we walked Alaric talked to us about his wife, my mother.

"So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore." H said as we walked. When we arrived at an office a woman greeted us at the door.

"Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier"

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant comparative folklore" she looked strangely at me for a moment. She looked back at Alaric and said, "Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys" She went back inside the office real quick and I looked my outfit over. I wore my black pants and heeled knee high boots and a red corset styled top with my black leather jacket on. Nothing was wrong with this outfit so what was with the look? She walked back out and we all walked down the hallway a little.

"These are my friends Nicole and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student, she was brilliant and one of the reasons I went into folklore. Uh I have to ask, has there been any news?" she asked him.

"No, I'm afraid not." he told her looking back at me slightly.

"It's this way." she said opening a door. We followed her into the room and she turned back to us.

"I'll grab the light, feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?" she left to go somewhere and I walked to a bookshelf looking at my mother's stuff.

"Where did she go?" Damon asked us.

"How should we know? We've been stuck with you all day?" I said giving him a look, which he ignored. I heard the floor creak and turned to see Vanessa pointing a crossbow at me. She shot at me but before it could hit me Damon put himself in front of me and was shot in the back. Alaric ran at Vanessa before she could ready another arrow.

"Why did you do that?" I asked as I knelt next to Damon.

"If you wanted to get shot then next time leave a memo. Until then pull out the arrow." he told me.

"Are you sure you want me to pull it out?" I asked him, looking at the arrow in his back.

"Pull it out. I can't reach it Nicole. Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts." he said calmly. I grabbed the arrow, twisted it slightly then pulled it out.

"What the hell did you twist it for?!" he yelled at me.

"That was for killing my brother." I told him calmly. He rolled his eyes and then moved his shoulders around.

"That bitch is dead." he said looking in the direction of Alaric and Vanessa.

"You're not gonna kill her." I told him.

"Watch me." he said looking back at me.

"You touch her and I swear I will make sure no one in my family never speaks to you again." I told him.

"What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you? I just met you. You're severely overestimating yourself." he told me and I smirked.

"Right. I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want." I started walking away but he pulled me back.

"You're trying to manipulate me." he said with no question in his tone.

"If by "manipulate" you mean "tell the truth" okay, guilty. From what Elena and everyone else told me, I don't have to know you personally to know your personality." I told him before leaving to fine Alaric and Vanessa.

"Please! I freaked out okay? Alright, you would have done the same thing, it's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay, I read Isobel's research." Vanessa told Alaric as I walked up to them.

"Well, then you should know just how possible this is." he told her as I walked into the room with Damon right behind me.

"I'm "Nicole Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and a descendant of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." I clarrified for her.

"I'd be extra nice to me right now." Damon told her and I gave him a look.

"Look, we need your help okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." she nodded her head and went to get what we needed. I hit Damon's arm.

"Ow, what? I was nice." he said, rubbing his arm slightly.

"Well, be nicer. I also get this feeling you'll say something worthy of an ass so I hit you." I told him as Vanessa started bringing boxes in.

"Really? Hitting me for something I haven't done yet? I think you just wanted to get a reel of what you're missing." he smirked and winked at me before starting on a box in another room.

"I wouldn't bet on it." I told him as Vanessa brought me a box.

"This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864." She said placing it down.

"Is that all there is about her?" I asked, hoping for more.

"All that I'm aware of." Vanessa gave me an apoligetic look.

"Great." I looked in the box to see vervain. I ripped some off handing it to Vanessa. Just because Damon was keeping away now, doesn't mean he won't try and hurt or compel her later. "Here, I'd take this if I were you." I told her, not bothering to keep my voice down. If he wanted to listen to our conversation then it would be easy.

"Does vervain really work?" she asked me, whispering.

"Nope, not at all." Damon lied to her while I nodded my head.

"Can he hear us?" she asked trying to be lower.

"No, that would be creepy." he whispered loudly over to us as I nodded again.

"Can he read minds too?" she stopped trying to be quiet finally.

"You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." he told her while looking at me.

"No, that he can't do. He is very capable of being a first rate jackass. And if I really wanted to see you naked Damon, you wouldn't be able to refuse." I said smirking at Damon. Vanessa put the vervain in her pocket and Damon smiled at me.

"You think you're that hot?" Damon asked me getting back to his box.

"Damon, not only am I that hot but I'm that good." I said winking at him then walked to a bookshelf.

"Do I really have to listen to this?" Alaric asked sounding disgusted.

"You could let me kill you again? Then you wouldn't have to listen to anything." Damon said getting closer to me.

"Like I'd let you kill me." Alaric told him.

"It was a joke." Damon stopped walking when he was next to me, hands behind his back. "Who did you learn to talk like that from?" he asked me putting his head close to my shoulder and ear.

"Women have needs just like men do, Damon. When you travel you pick up some things to get what you want or need. Did you know I never had to pay for a hotel room? I just seduced the man behind the counter and got a free room for as long as I was there. I even introduced a few to some of the cheeper hookers." I said brushing my hand lightly over the spines of the books in front of me.

"You're sister would be shocked." he told me.

"No. my sister knows me to well. I always get what I want Damon. No matter who gets hurt in the process or the results. Now what did you come over here for?" I asked him.

"Just wanted to see if you've had any luck?" he asked me.

"If I had evryone would know by now." I said turning to him. I hadn't noticed how close he was until then.

"Ah, you know, it's a bummer we're not friends because I could tell you what I know." he said smirking at me.

"Now who's manipulating who?" I asked him, leaning a little closer, before Alaric's voice could be heard.

"Hey guys, check this out."I rolled my eyes and walked over to him with Damon following me.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls but here are some records of some of the lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin walkers to Aztecs legends." Vanessa handed me a book with drawing in it. "It's translate into the "curse of the sun and the moon""

"It's Native American?" Alaric asked her, looking at the pages over my shoulder with Damon over the other.

"Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf." She explained to us.

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked her.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwire them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires." she told him.

"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it." he smirked at her.

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago vampires hunted them almost to extinction." she explained once again. I turned the pages in the book, showing the pictures of monsters fighting monsters.

"Why would they do that?" I asked looking up from the book

"To protect themselves. Legend has it, a werewolf bite is fatal to the vampires." I looked at Damon then pulled out my phone to call Elena.

"Hey." Stefan answered.

"Hi. Listen we've learned some stuff here and I know it's gonna sound crazy but I wanted to fill you and Elena in. Is she there?" I asked him.

"Yeah, what's going on?" I told them everything that we had learned about the curse.

"I don't know what that means or if we should even believe it but it's a full moon, but after what you saw Mason Lockwood do..." I told them trailing off.

"We'll be careful, don't worry." Elena told me.

"There's one more thing." I said before they could hang up on me.

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"According to the legend, a werewolf bite can kill a vampire."

"Listen, we got to go. I'll see you when you get home okay, Nickky?" Elena said.

"You better be there to greet me." I told her hanging up. I started looking through another box and found a picture that, if I hadn't known better, I would have said was mine. Katherine.

"Hey, have you done any research on doppelgängers?" I asked Vanessa who was sitting in a chair reading a book.

"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures, but typically a doppelgänger is a living, breathing double of oneself."

"Did Isobel have anything that explained the link between my sister, Katherine and me?" I asked her.

"That's all she had on Katherine, unfortunaltely, but I can tell you that doppelgängers usually torment the people they look like, thying to undue their lives. It's not exactly uplifting. Doppelgangers also normally don't have identical twins, there must be something about what's happening now that would make twin doppelgangers." Vanessa told me.

"And more things we already know. Just... I want to know why we all look alike." I said putting the picture down again.

"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon said coming up behind me.

"Do you know something, or are you just being yourself?" I asked turning to him.

"Well, if I know anything, I'm not goinna tell you with that attitude." Damon said smirking once more. Did he ever do anything else.

"That's no good, Damon, and this is coming from someone who wants to be my family's friend, but you know what? Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other." I told him trying to dig the information out of him.

Later that night, I tried getting into the car as Alaric talked to Vanessa. When I tried to open the door it wouldn't budge and I sighed in frustration.

"Here. Allow me." Damon said unlocking the door then opening it for me. "You and your sister aren't gonna be able to hate me forever."

"Can we just go?" I tried getting into the car only to have hid hand appear in front of my face with a book in it.

"You didn't dig deep enough." he said as I took the book from him and read the spine.

""Petrova". I saw this on a shelf." I said giving him a look.

"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name. Katerina Petrova, to be exact."

"How did you know that?" I asked, impressed.

"Back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too, you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." Damon said smiling at me. I smiled back at him then tried to get into the car, but she stopped me again. "You have every right to hate me, I understand but Elena hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever, or, in your case, never exsisted. So, is it? Have I lost you and your sister forever?" I just looked at him.

"Thank you for the book, Damon." i got into the front seat of the car and held the book close to me. This was all Elena and I had that linked us to our birth family. The car ride home was silent, which was fine with me. It gave me time to think. My phone chose that moment to go off.

**I haven't heard from you all day, are you okay?**

**-K**

**I'm fine, we've just been doing some digging on an old curse. The curse of the sun and the moon.**

**-N**

**Did they buy it?**

**-K**

**Yes, they fully believe it.**

**-N**

**Did you find anything else?**

**-K**

I told K all we had been told and all that had happened.

**So they trust you?**

**-K**

**Yes**

**-N**

"Who are you talking to ?" Damon asked me.

"Just an old friend from when I was traveling." I said putting my phone away. Luckily we were pulling into the drive way as I did. When Alaric turned off the car he got out and ran inside while Damon and I got out at our own pace. As we walked to the porch it was silent, but before we went in Damon broke that silence.

"Road trips work well for us."

"This doesn't mean that we're friends, Damon." I told him, holding on to the book harder.

"Oh come on! You know I chipped a little bit off of your wall of hatred." he said trying to convince me.

"I need to know the truth. When you broke Jeremy's neck, did you know that he was wearing the ring?" I asked him on last time.

"No. No, I didn't. Katherine really pissed me off and I snapped and… I got lucky with the ring. I don't know what I would done of he wasn't wearing it. Nicole, I'm sorry."

"First, thank you for being honest with me. Second, tell that to Elena and Jeremy you owe them. Third, the answer to your question, about our friendship is yes. You have lost her forever. That's what happens when you go after your brother's girl then kill her brother. Just because you gave us some vital information doesn't mean that either of us will ever forgive you."

"But you knew that already, didn't you? You used me today."

"You had information about Katherine that I needed to know." I told him shrugging.

"I thought friends don't manipulate friends. You and Katherine have a lot more in common than just your looks."

"That just it, Damon. We're not friends and I told you; I always get what I want, no matter who get's hurt." he looked at me hurt and pissed then walked off.


	4. Memory Lane

I was sitting at the Mystic Grill reading and waiting for Elena when Damon walked up to me.

"What do you want?" I asked not looking away from my book.

"So, this is where you spend your time when you're not stabbing people in the back." Damon asked me. I rolled my eyes and put my book down on the table.

"I tricked you into telling me the truth, that's not stabbing you in the back, it's using your own tactics against you." I told him getting up.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked me.

"I made myself clear, Damon. I want nothing to do with you." I told him grabbing my book.

"Okay. See you at Jenna's barbecue." Damon said stopping me in my tracks.

"How did you know about Jenna's barbecue?" I asked, suspecting him of trying something.

"It was my idea. Jenna went to high school with Mason Lockwood so I figured a social gathering would be a good way to get to know the guy. So I told Rick to tell Jenna and…"Damon trailed off smirking.

"Does Jenna know that you're going to be there because she's not exactly a fan of yours." I said interrupting him. A woman walking up to us and gave Damon a box.

"Perfect. Thank you. I'm hoping this peach cobbler will pave the way." he said as the woman walked away.

"What are you up to?" I asked him, glaring.

"I'm gonna put some silver into Mason Lockwood and prove he is a werewolf. See you at the barbecue." My eyes widened as he walked out. I shook my head and walked home. When I got home, Elena and Jenna were in the kitchen talking.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction." Elena was saying as I walked into the kitchen.

"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?"

"It's only because Alaric is a pity taker." I told them.

"Come on, be nice." Elena said.

"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you." Jenna told her. Elena looked at me.

"I'll be nice when he stops acting like a spoiled brat." I told her as Mason walked in.

"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" Mason told us holding the glasses.

"That would be my exit." Elena said smiling and leaving. Jenna looked at me.

"What? She said it was her exit, not ours." I told her.

"Go." I rolled my eyes and smiled before following my sister. I went outside as Elena was leaving a message to someone on her phone.

"Hey. Just checking in. Did you get my message about Jenna's barbecue? Call me when you can." She hung up Caroline joined us on the porch.

"Is that Stefan?" I asked her sitting on the railing.

"Yeah, he hasn't called me back. I'm trying to decide if I should be worried." she told me.

"I'm sure he's fine" I told her smiling Caroline grabbed a bowl of chips and started eating them

"God! I cannot stop eating. Stefan says it's a great way to sublimate the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day." Caroline told us.

"I know that Stefan really hates that part of himself." Elena told her, being supportive.

"Yeah and he hates that you're a constant temptation." Caroline told her, snacking away and avoiding my gaze.

"He said that?" Elena asked her.

"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's why I had to break up with Matt." Caroline said as Alaric came out the door.

"Hey! Food's ready, come get it." Caroline put down the chips.

"Finally, I'm starving." She said walking past him inside.

"You coming sis?" I asked her standing up. She just nodded and stood. After eating we were playing Pictionary and it was Damon's turn.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna guessed.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline tried.

"No, no." Damon said smirking at us.

"A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna tried while I rolled my eyes.

""Dances with the wolves"" I told them leaving to go into the kitchen.

"Nicole wins…again." Damon said following me into the kitchen.

"How is that a wolf?" I heard Jenna ask. Elena was taking the pie from the box and putting it on a plate when Damon and I joined her.

"Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy" Damon told her.

"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" She asked him messing with the pie.

"I want her to like me" He told her looking at the pie over her shoulder.

"How is operation Lockwood?" I asked him sitting on the counter.

"He's my new BFF." he told me, smirking. That was when Jenna came in the room.

"There you are. Isn't this fun?" Jenna asked us and I smiled at her buzzed attitude.

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me." Damon said to her.

"Did I have a choice?" She asked him, getting a silver set out.

"I know what you must think about me." Damon started to tell her.

"No, you don't. You've never dated you; I have dated many you's." I smiled at the banter between them.

"I'm a work in progress." He told her and watched as Elena gave her a cake knife from the set Jenna had pulled out earlier. "These are fancy." Damon commented on it, watching the set.

"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna told him. Elena and I watched him as he took a knife from the set. I gave him a look and he just smiled slightly at me. I followed Elena into the living room and sat next to Caroline on the sofa.

"Would I be the worst friend and sister in the world if I abandoned you guys and went to Stefan's?" Elena asked us.

"You want to leave?" Caroline asked.

"But it's just getting interesting." I told her, thinking of Damon taking the knife.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling." Elena told us.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena." Care told her.

"Damon's got it under control here." Elena told us.

"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend." Elena told her and I just watched.

"I'm not being clingy, I'm just concerned. You understand, right?" Elena asked us.

"How about I drive you?" Caroline offered her.

"And you're not leaving me here alone." I told them.

"Yeah, okay, that'll be great, thanks." We all walked out of the house and into her car.

* * *

"Thanks for this, I appreciate it." Elena told us in the car.

"Here we come, to the rescue." Caroline snapped a little.

"Why are you being so snippy?" I asked her, leaning up to them.

"That's my own drama. I'm sure that you two will beat the odds. Not that there is any study to pull odds from. What is the ratio of success vampire-human coupling? I'm guessing nil." Caroline told us.

"Okay Caroline." Elena said trying to get her to shut up.

"Sorry." I was silent for a few minutes before Elena turned on the radio.

"I love this song." Elena commented on it and Caroline pushed a button on her steering wheel.

"Whats playing?" She asked no one.

"Playing "We Radiate" By Goldfrapp." a voice over told us.

"Ta-da." Caroline smiled at us and I laughed a little. Not to long later we heard the tire burst.

"Oh crap." Care said. Elena looked at me and sighed in frustration. Caroline called for a tow and we got out of the car to wait.

"Are you sure the tow's coming? We've been waiting forever." Elena asked looking at Care.

"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now." Caroline looked down the road to see if she could see the truck.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna call Jenna." I told them pulling out my phone.

"No! Let me try the tow people again. And I'll use my mad girl voice." she said smiling at us and pulling out her phone also.

"Can't we just walk from here?" Elena asked watching the two of us.

"I can't just leave my car." Care told her. I just gave her a look.

"We'll come back for it." I said, starting to pull Elena with me.

"Just give me a minute." Care snapped again.

"Caroline, what part of "I'm worried about Stefan" didn't sink in?" Elena snapped back.

"What's the rush? Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?" Caroline asked her.

"That's enough out of you Caroline! I know that you're upset over Matt but you will stop projecting it onto Elena and Stefan, is that clear?!" I shouted at her.

"I'm not projecting anything! You're human, he's a vampire. You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and he's still gonna be smoking hot and you will never have his children, Elena! And you are too maternal to not have children!" Caroline told us.

"Where is this coming from?!" I asked her.

"I'm just trying to be your friend." Caroline told me.

"Okay, well, do us a favor and stop." I told her, standing between her and Elena as the tow arrived.

"There's the tow, we're gonna walk" I told her, pulling Elena with.

"No, Elena, Nikky, don't!" She grabbed our arms.

"Caroline, you're hurting us." Elena told her.

"Don't leave me alone." Care begged us.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked her.

"Hey there, someone called about a flat tire?" The tow guy called to us.

"She did." Elena told him as I pulled my arm from her grip and we left.

* * *

"Hello? Stefan?" Elena called as we walked into the living room. "Stefan?" We looked around the room and saw our triplet standing behind us.

"You must be Elena and Nicole." She said pointing to us.

"How is this possible? How do we look exactly alike?" Elena asked her. She didn't answer and looked at us from top to bottom. She touched her neck and went behind us.

"You're asking the wrong questions." Katherine told us.

"Why are you here?" I asked her. Stefan chose that moment to run into the room.

"Elena?! Nicole?!" We looked to him and then back at where Katherine was to see she disappeared. "Are you two okay?"

"Not really. Are you okay?" Elena asked him.

"Not really." Stefan answered her. They held each other close. I just looked at the spot where Katherine had just told appeared before us.

* * *

I entered the Mystic Grill with Elena and Stefan. We passed by Caroline who was sitting alone at a table. I walked to the bar and sat down as far away from everyone as I could.

"Elena." I heard Caroline say.

"Hey." Elena greeted.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry about earlier today. I don't know what came over me." Caroline told her.

"It's okay, Caroline. Everything that you were saying was right. It's just hard for me to hear, you know?" Elena asked.

"So… you're not mad at me?" Caroline asked, wanting to feel better.

"You were just being a good friend…in your own way." Elena told her.

"My own head case, horrible way. Elena, I really am sorry." I heard Elena walk away from her, probably to Stefan.

"I'm starving." Stefan told her.

"Well, spending the day with your jealous ex will do that to you." Elena snipped.

"Listen, I know you're upset but we have to take her seriously. Today, was all about the lengths she would go to." Stefan told her.

"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. Nicole and I were standing right in front of her." Elena told him.

"Elena, you caught her off guard. It doesn't mean that you're safe." Stefan tried explaining to her.

"I'm not afraid of her." Elena told him.

"Well, you should be." Stefan said, trying to convince her.

"If Katherine had her way, we'd be breaking up right now." Elena said, trying to convince him of her point of view.

"If today taught me anything, is that Katherine is used to getting her way." Stefan told her.

"You're not actually saying that we should what she says?" Elena asked, sounding hurt.

"Listen, she's sadistic, okay? She threatened you, she threatened everyone." Stefan explained to her.

"Yeah, no, I get it. She's dangerous. But every day that we are together, it's dangerous. Why are you giving her so much power over our relationship?" Elena asked him, confused.

"This is the reality of our situation." Stefan answered her.

"Well, reality sucks." Elena told him. "This is what she wants. She wants us to fight. She wants to get between us." Elena told him, trying to convince him that they should stay together.

"She already has, Elena." Stefan told her. I pulled out my phone and text K everything that'd happened today, ending K's day on a high note.

"I'll take a vodka tonic." I told the bartender.


	5. Kill or Be Killed

The morning after learning about Mason, Elena, Jeremy and I were all in the bathroom talking. To say it was crowded was an understatement.

"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf." Jeremy said, thinking aloud.

"We're not sure about that yet. The only thing we know for sure is that Mason Lockwood is." Elena reminded him.

"It should be enough easy for us to figure it out." Jeremy said, making me stop brushing my hair.

"There is no us." I told him continuing my morning routine.

"Nicole's right, I said that I wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean that we want you involved in it." Elena told him.

"Elena and I have no choice, but you do. I don't want to take away what little normal life you may still be able to have." I told him.

"By definition of being in this family, I'm involved." Jeremy told us.

"This is dangerous, Jeremy. You have to stay out of it, okay?" Elena instructed him.

"Alright. Just saying." He said walking out.

"You know, you can't just order people around like that Elena. Someday it may come back to haunt you." I told her while starting on my make-up.

"I'm just worried about him and Jenna. Who know's what could happen once the Katherine problem is resolved." She told me.

"Easy. The new problem starts." I told her and she laughed going back to her room.

* * *

Elena and I rode together to the Mystic Falls Historical Society Volunteer Day thing at the park and waited for Mrs. Lockwood to finish her speech.

"This is all part of the historical society, continuing efforts to give back to the community. Thanks to the generous donation of the Fell family. We are now standing on the sight of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today to lend a helping hand. Thanks." We all applauded and went to work. Elena, Caroline and I were painting a veranda while talking about any issues we had, as we girls do.

"So suddenly, she's in the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most. I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this." Caroline said seeing her face.

"Oh, no, sorry. Then what happened?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was a bitch which is part of the course with us. So, how are things with you and Stefan? Anything?"

"No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me. I just don't know how to change his mind."

"Katherine is dangerous." I reminded her.

"Maybe he's got a point." Caroline said.

"Yeah, I know that she's dangerous and I know that he's just trying to protect me but it feels like giving up and I just…" She broke off.

"Just what?" I asked.

"I just thought that we were stronger than that." I focused on the painting we were doing. I noticed Elena looking at Stefan and him looking back.

"Oh, oh. Longing looks are being exchanged." Caroline told her.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." She told us.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline told her but she left us only for Damon to join us.

"What's her problem?" he asked us.

"Don't worry about it." Caroline told him while I watched Elena.

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon asked Care.

"Don't worry about it." I told him going back to my work while listening to my sister and Stefan.

"Do you still care about Katherine?" she asked him.

"Don't do this. Please don't turn this into something that it's not." Stefan told her.

"So this is not for discussion. That's what you're saying?" She asked him again as we all listened.

"No, I'm saying that this isn't up for discussion right now because we have ears on us." Stefan said and the three of us pretended we weren't listening.

"Okay, when?" She asked wanting a definite time.

"I don't know." he told her continuing with his work.

"I saw her Stefan. It's like we are the same person. How could you hate her and be in love with me?" She asked and it definitely sounded confusing.

"You're reaching. I'm not… I'm not Damon." he told her, bringing his brother in one the argument.

"How about we don't bring Damon into this right now?"She asked him.

"You know, I can't… I can't do this anymore, Elena." He told her, but the way he told her made it sound like code or something.

"Fine, Stefan. Whatever." That was fake. I knew my sister.

"Relationships are about communication." Damon told us and Caroline left.

"And you got that all figured out, do you?" I asked him. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I looked at the message on it and was shocked.

**I found you**

"Everything ok?" he asked me.

"Yea. I'm going to make a quick call ok?" I didn't wait for his answer I just walked away from him. I made sure I was out of his hearing range. I called K.

"What is it?" K asked.

"I sent you a copy of a text I just received. They found me. What should I do?" I asked. We hadn't planned on this. As far as they know I was dead.

"Calm down. This changes nothing. Don't worry about them." K told me, trying to calm me down.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, now calm down."

"Ok, I gotta go. We've this thing at the park."

"Ok, be careful." we hung up.

I watched Damon walk over to Mason. I walked over to both boys.

"Hello, Mason. Working hard?" Damon asked Mason.

"Doing my part." Mason simply answered him.

"I heard you talked to Stefan." Damon said.

"Nice guy." Mason commented.

"Yeah, a lot nicer than me." Damon pointed out.

"No kidding." I alerted them to my presence.

"Nice is overrated." Mason told us.

"That's what I think." Damon said, continuing the unless banter.

"You have a good day, Damon." Mason said smirking at the man next to me. He nodded his head my way and left leaving Stefan room to talk our ears off.

"Please tell me that you were just bonding."

"Of course, Stefan. What else would they be doing?" I asked him sarcastically.

"So what's up this faux drama in your relationship?" I knew it.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked him, but his voice gave everything away.

"Oh come on, Stefan. You and Elena don't fight, especially not over me." Damon pointed out.

"Drop it, Damon." I told him.

"With pleasure." He told me. A little girl walked up the three of us and I looked up to see the sheriff watching us.

"Would you like some lemonade?" She asked Damon, handing him the lemonade.

"Thank you, sweetie." He smiled at her and took the cup. She walked away and he took a drink but spit it back out.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked trying to help him.

"Vervain. Vervain." I moved to grab a water while trying to see if anyone was watching us. When I moved back to Damon and I handed him the water and he chugged it down.

"I'm gonna kill him." Damon told us.

"Listen to me! Sit! Sit!" Stefan said, trying to calm him down a little.

"I'm not listening anymore of your "give peace a chance" crap. He's dead!" Damon told him angrily.

"Okay. I don't like it. He's making threats. He could expose us. We need to put him down." Stefan agreed.

"Alright. Let's do it." I said looking for Mason.

"Woah, Princess, what makes you think that you're coming with us?" Damon asked me.

"I just said I was." I told him.

"No you're not." Stefan told me.

"Make me stay." I told him, challenging them both. Damon looked behind me.

"Woods. Trash duty. Come on." Both Stefan and I followed him to the woods.

* * *

When we walked further in the woods we found Mason.

"Don't look so surprised. You knew this was inevitable. Go ahead, run. I'll give you a head start." Damon told him. Mason bent down and we were all shot.

* * *

When I woke up I heard Damon screaming.

"How did you fool us? How do you walk in the sun?" I heard Sheriff Forbes ask. I opened my eyes in time to see her shoot Stefan.

"Sheriff Forbes? What are you doing?" I asked her lightly. The pain in my stomach stopped me from moving around to much to see the boys.

"I will drag this out painfully." She said ignoring me.

"But you're my friend." I heard Damon tell her.

"Our friendship was a lie. Answer me and I'll kill you fast." She told him.

"Liz you need to call an ambulance for Nicole." Damon told her as I applied as much pressure to my stomach as I could.

"How stupid do you think I am? That's Katherine Pierce not Nicole Gilbert. Nicole died a few months ago." I laughed a little before crying out in pain.

"So that reached here, huh? Didn't expect that." I told her.

"Let's do this." She handed two of her deputies a stake and held on herself. "Each with a stake in the heart, then burn them all." We heard a noise at the entrance of the cell. "Check it out." She ordered. One of the deputies went to check it out. "Elena! What are you doing?" I looked and saw my sister and nearly cried out in joy of seeing her.

"You can't kill them. I'm not gonna let you." She told her. We heard another noise at the top then heard the door close by itself.

"What was that?" One of the deputies asked.

"Who else is with you?" the sheriff asked my sister. Elena never got to answer as both deputies fell and Caroline stood where the last one fell.

"Hi mom." She looked at her mom with blood dripping down her face.

* * *

Damon was then feeding on one of the deputies before giving me his blood to heal me. As he fed me his blood he looked at Stefan.

"You need to drink some deputy blood." He told his little brother.

"No. I'm gonna be fine. It's just gonna take a little bit longer." I pulled away from Damon's wrist and nodded at him in thanks.

"Damon's right you know. If there's ever time to break your diet…"

"He said he didn't want it, okay?" Elena interrupted Caroline as she sat next to Stefan, helping him clean up.

"This is a most unfortunate situation. Two deputies dead and you." Damon said looking at Liz. "What am I gonna do with you?" He asked her.

"You won't tell anyone, will you? Mom? Mom? Please. Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please. He will kill you." Caroline begged her.

"Then kill me." She said looking up at him.

"No!" Caroline told them.

"I can't take this. Kill me now." Liz told him.

"But you were gonna drag it out so painfully." He told her then pulled her up to face him forcefully.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Caroline begged, crying.

"Damon, don't!" Stefan told him.

"Damon, please!" Elena begged.

"Damon, no!" I ordered.

"Relax guys. No one is killing anybody." He told us then looked at Liz "You're my friend." He told her, then looked at the deputies on the ground. "We've got to clean this up."

"No shit." I told him.

* * *

At the Salvatore house Elena and I waited for Caroline to come back with luggage for her mom's stuff.

"Hey, sorry that took forever. I just didn't know how long my mom was gonna be here." she told us as she walked in.

"Damon says it'll take 3 days' tops for the vervain to leave her system. Maybe even sooner." Elena told her hopefully as Stefan joined us.

"Hey! You get some bunny in you?" Caroline asked him.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better, thank you." Stefan told her.

"Come on, I'll go with you to see your mom." I told her and we walked to the basement cell.

* * *

"A stomach bug. Yeah, it came on fast. I'll definitely be out tomorrow." She was saying on the phone as we walked closer. "Or longer. I'll text you. Yeah. Good night" She hung up and I saw her give the phone to Damon.

"Thank you. It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. Brought you a good thread count. And once the vervain is worked out of your system, I will compel you, you will forget everything and you will be a free woman." Damon told her as I walked in the cell.

"Can you keep Caroline far away from me please? I don't want to see her." She asked looking between Damon and myself.

"She's your daughter, Liz." Damon told her.

"Not anymore. My daughter's gone." She said looking down.

"You have no idea how wrong you are about that." He told her looking to the door.

* * *

I sat in the back looking at the moon. It was peaceful out which was almost the only reason I loved coming home.

"So, I heard this rumor today." I looked behind me to see Damon and rolled my eyes.

"And what would that be?" I asked him looking back to the moon.

"That you are dead." He said sitting next to me.

"In a way, I was." I told him.

"What happened?" he asked me and I looked at him.

"I had to get away from someone, so I faked my own death to get away." I told him.

"Why go that far? Why not just move away?" I smiled at the question.

"He wasn't the kind of man I could just move away from. Faking my death was the only way to come home." I told him looking back at the moon. We sat in silence for a while before I got up and left the house to walk home.

* * *

As I walked home my phone rang with an unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered it.

"Hello, Nicole." I froze. "Did you really think you could get away from me?"

"Well I obviously tried." I told the man on the phone. He was silent on the other end and I could almost hear his anger.

"I know where you are now. It wont take long for me to find exactly where you are every day." He told me and I looked to the ground in sadness.

"It wont matter, I don't want you around here." I told him. At those words I felt my chest tighten, so I did still...

"I'll see you soon lover."


	6. Plan B

I dropped Jeremy off at the Salvatore's before arriving at the Lookwood's. Ever since that phone call I'd been ignoring my phone when it went off. I knew K would be worried but at the same time understood. I still cared about that man, deeply. When I got out of my car I noticed Bonnie carrying a couple boxes so I walked over to her.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked her when I got to her.

"Not much, just making doing my part, you know?" I nodded to her and took one of the boxes to help her when Elena walked over to us.

"You're here." I just raised my eyebrows at the statement.

"I'm here." I looked between them as Elena took out some candles from the boxes we were carrying. I noticed Bonnie looking around as though making sure she wasn't going to be surprised.

"Caroline's not coming. I told you." Elena told her.

"Just making sure." Bonnie told us.

"You know, eventually, you're gonna have to talk to her." I told the young witch.

"Could you make it a little less obvious you two are on her side?" She asked giving us both a look.

"There are no sides, Bonnie." Elena tried explaining to her.

"Come on! Since Caroline became a vampire, we barely see each other. Losing Caroline was bad enough; I didn't think I'd lose you guys too." Bonnie told us, clarifying what was going on.

"Come with me." Elena told her walking away.

"Where?" Bonnie asked her. I put down my box and started walking away.

"Not here. Some place quiet. We have to talk." Elena held out her hand to Bonnie and Bonnie took it. We then walked away and told her everything.

"I can't believe this." Bonnie said as we walked across the yard.

"It's a lot, I know. Katherine's doing everything that she can to drive me and Stefan apart and Caroline just got trapped in the middle." Elena told her. They sat on a bench and I stood in front of them.

"It's not that you and Stefan are pretending to fight. It's that I didn't even know you guys were fighting at all." Bonnie told her.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to keep things from you but you've made it pretty clear where you stand with the whole vampire thing." Elena told her.

"And since all we do is pretty much with the vampire thing..." I left off allowing them to draw their own conclusions.

"So that makes me the odd man out." Bonnie said looking between us.

"No - no, Bonnie, of course not." Elena said, trying to play the peacekeeper.

"I know where I stand, Elena. And I know where you you Nicole stand. But where do we stand?" She asked, questioning our friendship.

"You're our friend, Bonnie. We didn't mean to let this craziness with Caroline get in the way of that. But, she needs you too." I told her.

"Not yet, I just… she's a vampire, I can't. I think we should get back." She got up and left us.

"Don't worry she'll come around." I told Elena as she watched her walk away.

* * *

Elena left me with the masks to stalk Stefan. When she came back she looked different.

"Everything ok?" I asked her as we worked. She smirked at me, telling me who she was.

"It's nice to see you again in the open Nicole." I smiled and hugged her. "So how is everything in paradise?" she asked me.

"As far as the town know Stefan and Elena are at on the outs, but..." I dropped off my sentence and let her work it out on her own.

"Nikky, I'm going to have to do something that will probably hurt you. I have to get my point across and protect you." She told me sadness swimming in her eyes.

"To who?" I asked her.

"Jenna. I need them to think she's my spy, they can't know you and I are working together yet." she told me, avoiding my gaze.

"Just don't kill her." I told her and she looked at me for a while before nodding her head and leaving.

* * *

Matt and Elena joined me in the joy of sorting through the costumes and masks.

"So, where's Caroline? This is like her thing. I can't believe she's not here." Matt told us, looking for his girl.

"She had something else to do." I told him, thinking about what Katherine was going to do. This wasn't in our plan but our plan also had kinks called the free will of others. Not all of them did as we wanted them to.

"Is she seeing someone?" Matt asked us in a small voice.

"Matt, come on. No, she's not." Elena told him. Stefan walked to another table with a box of masks and he and Elena looked at him. Tyler then walked into the room and started looking for someone.

"Anyone seen Mason?" He asked us. I just shook my head at him. If he was doing as told he was to get the moonstone from his hiding place.

"He, uh, he took off. He said he wasn't sure when he'd be back." I threw a curious look to Stefan. Mason hated him and Damon, he wouldn't have told them where he was going.

"So weird." Tyler said as he walked out fof the room. It was silent for a few seconds before Stefan's phone went off. Stefan looked to Elena and I but when Elena walked towards him he shook his head at her and walked away. She sighed and we continued sorting costumes.

"I'm not even gonna ask." Matt told her.

"We'll be right back." Elena told him pulling my arm and walking in Stefan's general direction.

* * *

By the time Elena and I had caught up to Stefan he was at the old well at the edge of the Lockwood property.

"What's going on?" Elena asked him as we ran up to him.

"You shouldn't be here." he told us.

"I know, but I am. What's going on?" She asked him.

"That's what I would like to know. I thought you two were fighting." I said looking between them.

"I'll explain later." Elena told me quickly before turning back to Stefan.

"Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here." Stefan told us as he pulled the lock off the iron grating on top of the well. He then took off the grating and turned on a flashlight, handing to Elena, sighing. He then jumped onto the edge of the well and Elena handed him back the flashlight.

"Hey. Be careful." Elena told him.

"I'll only be down there for a minute." He then jumped into the well with Elena holding her breath. When we heard the splash of the water below she finally took a breath.

"Elena!" we rushed to the well and looked down but couldn't see anything.

"Stefan?!" Elena called back to him.

"Elena!" He screamed again, he sounded like he was in pain.

"Stefan, what's happening?! What's going on in there?!" Elena asked him.

"Vervain. Oh, God! Help!" He begged us.

"Hold on, Stefan!" I called to him as Elena and I jumped away from the edge of the well and tried to pick up the chain on the ground, but even together we weren't strong enough. Elena and I jumped back to the well.

"Stefan!" Elena called for him.

"Elena!" We turned to see Caroline with us, she must have been close enough to us and sped over here with her speed.

"Caroline, Stefan's down there and the chain is rusted." Elena told her. Caroline started to climb into the well but Elena and I stopped her.

"No, no, no! You can't, it's filled with vervain. Caroline, we've got to get him out. Now!" I told her. Caroline looked into the well then grabbed the chain from the ground while Elena climbed on the edge of the well. Elena then wrapped the chain around herself and hooked it to one of the links looking at us.

"I got you, okay?" Caroline assured her.

"Yeah." Elena said nodding to her. Bonnie chose that moment to run up to us.

"What's going on? You just took off in a blur." She told Caroline. At least Bonnie and Caroline were starting to get along again.

"I heard Elena screaming. Help her, now!" Bonnie and I grabbed Elena's hands and helped lower her into the well.

"Are you ready?" Care asked my sister.

"Yeah." Caroline started lowering Elena into the well, slowly. She then lost hold of the chain for a second but grabbed it again quickly.

"Elena!" I called down to her.

"Sorry!" Caroline called down to her.

"It's okay, keep going. Come on!" Elena instructed. Caroline slowly lowered Elena down into the well.

"Hey! Oh, Oh my God." We heard Elena say.

"Elena, what's going on down there?" I called down to her.

"Pull him up!" She told us and Caroline started to pull the chain up from the well. When Stefan came up Bonnie and I pulled him out and untied him, laying him on the ground. Bonnie's hand brushed my arm and quickly pulled away. I looked up to her and she looked shocked at me.

"Elena? Ready for you!" I heard Caroline call down the well, but my eyes never strayed from Bonnie.

"Hold on! I need to find the stone." Elena called back up.

"Hurry!" Caroline told her.

"Damn, I knew I should have had that witch make the spell last longer." I said to myself, never looking away from the young witch before me.

"How could you?" She asked me, fear filling her eyes.

"There are things even you don't know, Bonnie." I told her, looking to Caroline, waiting for Elena to call to us.

"Hold on! I think I found it!" She called and I pulled myself away from the witch and looked down into the well. I heard Elena screaming and in that moment I could have sworn my heart stopped.

"Elena!" I called to her as Bonnie rushed to my side.

"Elena! What's going on?!" Caroline asked.

"I got it. Come on! Bring me up!" Elena called and Caroline pulled her up. Bonnie and I helped her out of the well and, when her feet touched the ground, she ran to Stefan. "Oh, god! Stefan!" She cradled his head under her arm and they rushed to her while I watched. "Stefan! Stefan." Elena grabbed a rock nearby and cut her hand with it. Caroline turned to me and Elena placed her wrist to Stefan's mouth. "I've got the stone, Stefan. Stefan, it's gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay." She told him. I looked at Caroline and walked back to the Lockwood's and my car, then drove home.

* * *

When I got home I walked to the kitchen and helped Jenna and Alaric with the cooking.

"Hey. I saw you and Elena leave early, where did you go?" Jenna asked me. I just looked at her for a moment, thinking of a good excuse.

"We just went for a walk. She wanted to talk about her and Stefan's rough patch." I told her. We continued cooking and talking when Elena walked into the kitchen and the phone rang.

"Where is Jeremy?" Elena asked as Jenna answered the phone.

"Oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he wasn't hungry." Alaric told her as she and I grabbed some plates. Elena gave me a look saying we'd talk later then looked to Jenna talking on the phone.

"Who is she talking to?" Elena asked us.

"I don't know. Everything go okay today?" Alaric asked her, looking worriedly between us.

"There were a few hiccups, but yeah." I told him as we set the table.

"Of course, I understand." I heard Jenna say into the phone before walking to us. "Elena, it's for you." she said handing Elena the phone.

"Who is it?" Elena asked her but Jenna just shrugged and walked back into the kitchen.

"Hello?" Elena looked between the two of us and she walked out of the room. "Katherine." my head bolted up and Elena looked to us. Alaric gestured to Elena asking what was going on but Elena just put her hand up, gesturing for us to hold on. "No." Elena then dropped the phone. "Jenna, no!" I turned quickly and watched as Jenna stabbed herself in the stomach and fell to the floor.

"Jenna! Jenna!" Ric shook her slightly as I pulled out my cell, calling 911.

* * *

Jeremy and I waited in the waiting room for Elena to walk out of Jenna's room. When she did we jumped up and walked to her.

"Is she okay?" I asked her. I told Katherine not to kill her so I knew she'd be fine, but still...

"The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky. She's gonna make it. She's gonna be okay." Elena told us and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Does she remember what happened?" Jer asked.

"No, nothing. It's all a part of Katherine's mind compulsion." Elena told him before turning to me. "Did you know about this? Did you know she'd compelled Jenna to kill herself?" Elena asked me, but I couldn't answer.

"Why would Katherine hurt Jenna?" Jer asked looking between the two of us.

"Because she's trying to send a message. You didn't do as she said and you tried to trick her." I told them, looking at Elena. She started crying and leaned on Jeremy.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's gonna be okay." Jeremy told her, holding her.

"No, it's not." She told him.

"She's gonna pay, Elena. I don't know how but she's gonna pay." Jeremy told her, trying to comfort her.

* * *

When I got to the bed and breakfast, Mrs. Flowers let me in and showed me to Katherine's room.

"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers." I nodded my head and she walked away with a small smile on her face. I didn't bother knocking on her door and just walked in.

"Nicole? What is it? Why are you here?" She asked quickly walking to me.

"Bonnie touched my arm and found out about us working together. How's Mason doing on his part of the plan?" I asked sitting on her bed.

"Mason's dead. Damon called me and told me he ripped out his heart." She told me after texting someone.

"But we needed him for the plan to work. They won't let you go without all of us." I reminded her.

"Don't worry, we also have Tyler Lockwood. He'll have to do." She told me sitting next to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"And how to you plan on that one?" I asked her.

* * *

Katherine had been pacing back and forth for a while before she started talking to our guest on the bed. I had to remain silent to make sure her compulsion worked.

"I apologize if I seem rattled. Circumstances have changed suddenly, and I had to adjust." She said sitting on the bed. "Mind control is a necessary evil. You see, I need a werewolf, and I've lost the one that I had. Now, tell me what you're going to do to help me get a new one." I looked at Matt as she tested his response.

"I'm going to go after Tyler Lockwood."

"And you're not going to stop." she said compelling him, digging it deeper into his mind.

"And I'm not going to stop." He repeated.

"Until?" she asked him.

"Until he kills me." he answered her.

"I'm sorry, Matt. I wish we could use someone else but you're our best option."


	7. Masquerade

**I want to thank all my devoted readers! You are what keeps me going with all my stories. While I love everything I wright your reviews keep a smile on my face and your ideas just might end up in one of the chapters. I also wanted to take this small bit of your time to reply to some of those reviews. I know I've never done that before but I've honestly never known how without giving Katherine and Nicole's friendship away.**

**I wanted to specifically thank winxgirl1997, Sissymac, and mfmxxx, for their reviews since the last update.**

**Sissymac: I know right? Hopefully this chapter will live up to the expectations of the love of the episode.**

**mfmxx: (Chapter 2 review) yes he knew about her but also Katherine was making herself known she he wanted to be sure of who it was before relaxing. (Chapter 6 review) Their is a reason for her working with Katherine and I hope to delve into that a little from here on out until we all know her back story**

**Sanura Bey**

* * *

_Three Years Ago:_

"Where is she?" I asked the man below me with a gun pointed at his chest.

"I told you she's dead! She burned years ago!" He told me and I shot him in the leg again.

"Wrong. See I found a journal some time ago saying she escaped and I need your help tracking her down." I told him then smiled at him sweetly. "So tell me where she is and I'll stop shooting you." I told him.

"The bitch is dead! God your just like her!" He told me and I staked him. I watched him turn gray then left.

"I will find you Katherine! I have something you need and I'm willing to make a deal for it. So find me before they hear about you being alive." I said to nothing as I walked. I assumed she was the presence I'd felt following me for a majority of the year. I just hoped I was right. I needed her help and I knew that running for so long would be tiring for her. She needed me.

"You called me?" I turned quickly with my gun held high.

"Hello Katherine. My name is Nicole Gilbert. I know how you can make a deal with the devil to win your freedom, I just want one thing in return." I told her.

"And why should I help you? I could kill you know and be done with it." she told me smirking. I lowered my gun since I wasn't using it. My arm was cramping anyway.

"I read that man's journal. The one who helped you in Mystic Falls. I can help you stop running from them." I told her and the next thing I knew I was being held by my throat against the wall. Her eyes had turned black and the veins under her eyes were now visible.

"What do you know?" She asked me.

"Klaus."

* * *

_Present:_

Katherine and I were in the Grill when I saw Caroline enter the bathroom.

"Well, well, well. We have our little messenger." I told her signaling over to Care.

"Let's go." We stood up and entered the bathroom as she was washing her hands.

"Elena? Nikky?" she asked us.

"Hey, I saw you with Matt, are you okay?" Katherine asked pretending to care.

"Yeah, you know... whatever." She told us looking down before trying to use her vampire speed to leave but Katherine grabbed her and pulled her back.

"You're good. What gave me away? Was it the hair? Or was it my clothes?" Katherine asked her.

"I know Elena is...I know Elena's at home" She told us.

"That's right, Aunt Jenna gets home from the hospital today." I reminded myself and Katherine.

"I need you to deliver a message." Katherine told her. "Tell Damon and Stefan that I want the moonstone or I will rip this town apart until it rains blood. Tonight, at the masquerade ball." Katherine and I left after that to go shopping for the ball.

* * *

Katherine and I entered the bedroom carrying shopping bags with Mrs. Flowers is helping us.

"Where should I put these?" she asked us.

"Right there." Katherine said pointing to a chair.

"Thank you, Mrs. Flowers. You've been such a wonderful help." I told her.

"Oh, it's my pleasure dear. Let me know if there's anything else I can do." She told us before leaving.

"We will." We told her as she closed the door. We put the shopping bags down and Katherine pulled out a dress from one of the bags. Katherine then rushed over to the other side of the room pushing a woman against the wall.

"Oh, Kat, easy." The woman said holding her hands up.

"Do not sneak up on a vampire" Katherine told her letting her go.

"Don't attack a witch. It's good to see you girl." She said hugging Katherine. "Nicole, it's been a while. How've you been?" she asked hugging me.

"Same old, same old." I told her with a smile on my face. Lucy had put a spell on me so Bonnie couldn't see Katherine but I guess it had worn off over time.

"I'm glad you made it." Katherine told her smiling.

"You called, I came." She told us still smiling. Katherine had saved her life once and so now Lucy owed her a favor.

"Like you had a choice." Katherine told her.

"Don't get all boss lady on me. You know I love you." Lucy said pulling out a mask from one of the bags. "Now, where does one where this?" She asked holding it up to her face.

"To a masquerade ball. Tonight. You want to be our date?" I told Lucy smirking. Later Lucy and I were all trying on dresses and matching masks to them while Katherine was straightening her beautiful curly hair.

"What's with the hair?" Lucy finally asked her.

"I'm impersonating my dullest dishwater doppelgänger Elena. She has the worst taste." Katherine told her.

"Now be nice, Katherine. The two of you have the same taste in men after all." I reminded her while holding a black dress up to me behind her in the mirror. She shook her head to the dress option.

"As do you." She said smirking at me.

"Isn't it a risk pretending to be her in front of the entire town?" Lucy asked her holding up a different dress.

"I've gotten quite good at it actually and everyone's gonna be in masks. It's for some feed this, something charity. It's for a good cause Lucy." Katherine told her while shaking her head to her dress choice.

"Hum, okay. Well, have you actually seen the moonstone before? I always thought it was some made up legend." Lucy told her picking out another dress.

"I have seen it and I need you to help me get it back." She told the witch.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do with it?" Lucy asked her. Katherine and I shared a look in the mirror. "You want me to break the curse." She said looking between us.

"Let's just get it first. All I really need from you is backup. I can't imagine that Damon and Stefan are just gonna hand it over without putting up a fight." I told her picking up another dress for approval.

* * *

When we arrived at the ball we looked around before going our separate ways. They each word black dresses while I wore a tight red dress with a red and gold mask. Katherine and I walked together for a while just to run into Matt. She took a strawberry from a plate before we found him standing by a pillar.

"Elena? Nicole?" He asked looking us over.

"Matt? You look dashing." Katherine told him looking him over.

"I thought you said you weren't coming?" He asked her. Good that meant Elena wouldn't be here tonight.

"I couldn't miss it. You really are hot in a suit. I would love to just... Okay, here's the deal." She said and I looked around to make sure no one was listening in. We needed this to go smoothly tonight for our big plan to work. "Do you know what you have to do?" She asked compelling him to remember.

"I'm gonna get Tyler Lockwood really drunk. I'm going to start a fight with him and I'm gonna beat him until he snaps." He told her.

"And then?" She asked him.

"I won't stop until he kills me." He told her.

"God, you're hot. Now go away." She said dismissing him.

"Thank you." He said leaving. After that she and I went our separate ways to mingle with those who needed mingling with. I talked with people I'd known before I left just to catch up them before excusing myself to grab a small bite to eat.

* * *

I'd found Katherine and started talking with her about the plan after tonight. After this we would have to find him again, that wouldn't be a good reunion.

"You didn't tell me there was another witch here." Lucy said angrily to us.

"Didn't we?" I asked her grabbing some food off the table in front of me. I was starving and we'd eaten something before we came to the party.

"No, you didn't. No one is supposed to know I'm involved. This changes things." She told us.

"This changes nothing. You're here because you owe your dear friends a favor. You wouldn't want to lose our friendship now, would you?" Katherine warned her. She was silent for a moment before Jeremy walked up to us.

"Elena, Nicole." He removed his mask and looked at Lucy. "Hey sorry, could I talk to my sisters?" He asked her. She looked to us for a moment and Katherine nodded her off and she left us with him.

"What is it Jeremy?" I asked him.

"I have a message from Stefan." He told us looking at Katherine. She looked to him surprised.

"Oh?" She asked him.

"He and Damon want you to meet them at the edge of the lake by the woods. They brought the moonstone." he told us.

"And why are you their little messenger?" I asked getting annoyed that they made him do their dirty work.

"Because they know I'm not afraid of her." He said finally looking at me.

"Hmm, you Gilbert men, so courageous. How's John by the way? Were they able to sew his fingers back on?" She asked touching his tie. She looked at him and left me alone with him. He pulled out his phone and started to text someone but someone pulled his arm away.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena asked looking between the two of us. Jeremy looked at me suspiciously.

"If you tell me I wont tell Katherine. I don't even have my phone on me, Jer." I told him. While Katherine and I had gotten close over the last three years my family still came first.

* * *

Jeremy and Bonnie, after a lot of convincing, told us what they had planned.

"You guys are trying to kill her here?" Elena asked them. This came as no surprise to me.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy told us.

"Okay, stop with the "we", are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed." Elena told them.

"We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie told her.

"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?" Elena asked them.

"It's not just you anymore, Elena. You aren't the only doppelgänger." I told her and she looked at me with a mixture of hurt and anger.

"She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Jeremy told her.

"You wont be able to kill her, Jer. Do you think we didn't come here prepared for something like this? I asked him.

"What do you mean." Suddenly my back was in severe pain and I screamed falling into Jeremy's arms.

"Nicole!" I pulled myself up a little enough to sit on a nearby bench.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Elena asked me. Jeremy pulled his hand away from my back and it was covered in blood.

"You can't kill her without killing me." I told them as my arm exploded in pain and I screamed.

"Get them to stop! Now!" Elena screamed at Jeremy and he ran to them.

"Why would you let her do this to you?" Elena asked me and I looked at her.

"I'm the one who suggested it. So long as our witch could make sure you weren't going to get hurt from this, then I was game." I told her smiling.

"Why are you working for her?" Bonnie asked me.

"I'm not working FOR her, I'm working WITH her. I hunted her down and offered her a deal she couldn't refuse." I told them before screaming in pain from a cut that magically appeared on my hand.

"Bonnie, do something." Elena begged her.

"I can't break the spell, Elena. I'm sorry but I can try to take some of the pain away. Okay? Okay?" She asked looking between the two of us. She took my hand in her and says her spell. "Ascinda, mulaf, hinto, ascinda..." She continued trying to take my pain away as Jeremy ran back to us.

"Are you okay?" Jer asked me.

"Are they?" Elena asked him and he just looked at her in silence for a moment.

"They're stuck in there with her." He said the looked to Bonnie. "You were right; Katherine had a witch link Nicole to her." Jer told her.

"The girl I saw, the one inside! Stay with her, keep pressure on her shoulder!" Bonnie instructed as she got up and started to run off.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

"There's another witch here, I'm gonna find her!" Bonnie said leaving the area. Jeremy took off his ring and tried to give it to me.

"No Jer." I told him pushing it away from me.

"Take it." He ordered.

"Jeremy, you know I have issues following orders. Don't start giving them." I told him smiling in pain.

"Nikky listen to me. You need this more than I do." He told me.

"No Jeremy. What I need is for you and Elena to be safe. Besides that ring wont work on me." I told him

"Why not?" He asked me.

"I'm a doppelgänger. Elena and I are supernatural from birth. That ring only protects normal humans." I told him.

"How do you know all this?" Elena asked me keeping pressure on my back as Jeremy did my shoulder.

"Katherine and I either found all this information somewhere or she learned it over 500 years of living." I told her.

"Why did you join up with her?" Jeremy asked me the question I know all of them would want to know.

"The Sun and the Moon curse. Once you learn the truth behind it, maybe you'll understand. I had to make sure what little family I had was safe." I told them.

"What about Jenna?" Elena asked me and I looked down.

"Katherine wanted to protect me. She knew that once you guys learned that she and I were working together you would make sure I couldn't do what I needed to do. We had our witch perform a spell before Mason and I arrived home but I guess it wore off." I told her. "Doing that to Jenna was something I never wanted to happen, but Katherine kept her word and made sure she was still alive by the end of it. There's something else. Something I've only told Katherine."

"What is it?" Jeremy asked me.

"Before Katherine and I came to Mystic Falls, I had to convince someone that I was interested in them and then convince them I was dead. The second part didn't work so well but the first part did. I spent so much time focusing on what I had to do I didn't notice I fell in love with him until it was too late."

"How was it to late?" Elena asked me.

"One the day I pretended to die I spent the night with him and now I'm pregnant." They were silent and I kept my head low until I heard someone run to us. Bonnie.

"I found the other witch I can heal you now." She told me and began her spell. When she was done I got up and began to walk away.

"Nikky wait." I turned to Elena and we continued walking for a while.

"Do you want a ride home?" She asked me and I smiled. It was a start.

"Sure." I told her as Stefan walked up to us.

"Elena. Nicole."

"We're okay, we're okay. Bonnie took away the pain and I think Nikky's healing." She told him.

"I know but I think you should definitely see a doctor anyway." He told me and I nodded to him.

"I heard about Katherine, is it true? Is she really gone?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said and I nodded while moving away a bit. They needed time alone together.

"I was so worried about you." He told her walking up to her but she pushed him away.

"Stefan...I..." She started but she couldn't finish what she wanted to say to him.

"Katherine being gone doesn't change anything for you, does it?" He asked her.

"I want to be with you, Stefan. You know that but first, I need to wake up and know that the people that I love are safe. I need to feel safe. Do you understand?" She asked him, looking back at me for a moment. She understood why I had done what I did now.

"Yeah. Yeah, I- I understand." He told her. She started walking away and I followed her.

* * *

We were walking through the parking lot going to Elena's car as she also spoke on the phone to Jeremy.

"Yeah Jeremy, I've got my car. Tell Bonnie that whatever she did, Nikky's starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home. I'm just gonna go straight to bed. Okay." She asked him. After she got her reply she hung up. Suddenly I felt someone put a cloth on over my mouth and nose and my world went dark.

* * *

_A few months ago_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katherine asked me.

"Yes, how am I going to convince him I'm not scamming him if I don't?" I asked her getting ready for my date.

"True but to stay the night again? It could be dangerous." She told me and I laughed.

"I've been dating him for nearly a year now, Katherine. After tomorrow we''ll be able to go back and finish what needs to be done. If I only have that long left then I want to make the most of it." I told her closing my purse with what I needed inside.

"Still, be careful." she told me.

"Yes mom." I walked out the door to the club to meet him. This was the same club we'd met in a year ago and the only place we'd meet at.

"Nikky." I turned and watched him walk up to me.

"Hey. Are you ready to go?" I asked him.

"Of course, you know me. I love making sure everything if perfect for you." he told me leaning down to kiss me gently.

"Then let's go." I told him and we walked away from the club to our restaurant. That was the last night I saw him.


	8. Rose

**I want to thank all my devoted readers! You are what keeps me going with all my stories. While I love everything I wright your reviews keep a smile on my face and your ideas just might end up in one of the chapters. I also wanted to take this small bit of your time to reply to some of those reviews. I know I've never done that before but I've honestly never known how without giving Katherine and Nicole's friendship away.**

**I wanted to specifically thank Clarabelle26, RosesMoon and a guest**** for their reviews since the last update.**

**Sanura Bey**

* * *

_Three years ago_

Katherine took me back to her place after our initial conversation.

"Please make yourself at home." she told me sarcastically. The house was a nice two story building and I was surprised it wasn't a mansion.

"Don't mind if I do." I sat on one of the sofas in the living room. In her living room it was very modern with a few things I assumed she'd collected over the years.

"What do you know? About Klaus and the curse?" she asked me as she stalked around the room.

"I've found multiple journals over the years describing the curse of the Sun and the Moon, you and finally Klaus. I now what you need to break it and I know who you can use." I told her and I knew I had her interested. "I know you need a werewolf, a vampire, and witch and the doppelganger. And Mystic Falls has all except the vampires but you could easily see to that gets changed." I told her smirking.

"And why would you want to kill off your friends or their family members? Surely there's something in this for you." she told me sitting across from me.

"Of course there is. I wouldn't come to if I had my own agenda." I told her.

"What is it?"

* * *

"Please she's hurt." I heard Elena say as I started coming to.

"I know. Just a taste." I heard a man say. Everything that had happened came back in a flash.

"Trevor! Control yourself." I heard a woman say as I began to open my eyes. I saw a man leaning down over me rolling his eyes.

"Buzz kill." Trevor said getting up and walking away leaving Elena and I with his partner.

"What do you want with us?" I asked her.

"Oh my god, you look just like her." She said looking between the two of us.

"But we're not. Please, whatever you…" Elena tried explaining to her but she wouldn't hear it.

"Be quiet!"

"But we're not Katherine. My name is Elena Gilbert and this is my sister Nicole; you don't have to do this." Elena tried explaining to her.

"I know who you are, I said be quiet." She told her.

"What do you want?" Elena asked her and the vampire slapped her hard. Elena fell to the couch, unconscious and I checked to make sure she was alive.

"I want you to be quiet."

"You didn't have to hit her that hard." I told the woman calmly as she walked out the room.

* * *

I waited for Elena to wake up while our captors were upstairs. When she woke up she started to say something but I clamped her mouth shut. I pointed to my ears then upstairs. She got up and we made our way upstairs to try and listen to the conversation.

"So that's it Trevor. He either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait." The woman told him.

"Look, it's not too late. We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this." Trevor begged her.

"I'm sick of running!" The woman shouted at him.

"Yeah? Well, running keeps us from dying." Trevor reminded her.

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free." The woman said as Elena tried to move closer making one of the boards squeak drawing their attention to us.

"You! There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?" The woman asked us.

"Who's Elijah?" Elena asked her and I looked away.

"He's your worst nightmare." she told us walking away again.

* * *

The woman was moving around in another room boarding up windows alone when I walked in on her with Elena close behind me.

"Why am we here?" I asked her.

"You two keep asking me these questions like I'm gonna answer them." She said avoiding the answer.

"Why won't you?" Elena asked her.

"That's another one."

"What's your name?" I asked her. I had my suspicions but I wanted certainty.

"Rose."

"Look, you got us, okay? It's not like we can go anywhere. The least you can do is tell us what you want with us." Elena said trying to dig more information from her.

"I personally want nothing; I'm just a delivery service." she told us.

"Delivery to Elijah?" I asked her.

"Two points to the eavesdropper." She told me.

"Who is he? Is he a vampire?" Elena asked her.

"He's one of the vampires, the originals." Rose told us.

"What do you mean the originals?" Elena asked her.

"Again with the questions. Haven't the Salvatore's been teaching you your vampire history?" Rose asked us.

"So you know Stefan and Damon?" I asked her.

"I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones. I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys though but I digress." She told us.

"Here here.'' I told her raising an imaginary glass. to her.

"Who are the originals?" Elena asked her giving me a look.

"Trevor and I have been running for 500 years. We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess." She told us.

"But why us?" Elena asked her.

"Because you're Petrova Doppelgängers. You're the key to breaking the curse." Rose told us.

"The curse? The sun and the moon curse?" Elena asked her.

"Oh, you do know your history." Rose said slightly surprised.

"What do you mean we're the key? The moonstone is what breaks the curse." Elena told her.

"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it." Rose corrected her, finally revealing the truth I wanted hidden from her until after the ritual.

"The sacrifice?" Elena asked wanting clarification.

"The blood of the Doppelgänger. We're the Doppelgänger. Which means, in order to break the curse one of us has to die." I told her. Elena stared at me in shock questions, no doubt, were running through her mind. Trevor chose that moment to walk in to the room we were standing in.

"Tell me more." Elena demanded of us.

"Captivity has made her pushy, eh? What do you want to know doppelicious?" Trevor asked her.

"Who were you running from?" Elena asked him.

"The originals." He answered her.

"Yeah, she said that. What does that mean?" Elena asked him again.

"The first family, the old world. Rose and I pissed them off." He told us and Rose cleared her throat at him.

"Not how I heard it." I told him.

"Correction, I pissed them off, Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they wanted us dead." Trevor corrected himself.

"What did you do?" Elena asked him.

"He made the same mistake countless others did: he trusted Katerina Petrova." Rose said looking at me.

"Katherine." Elena looked at me as well but I ignored them both.

"The one and only, the first Petrova Doppelgänger." Rose told her finally talking her eyes off me.

"I helped her escape her fate and now I've, sorry, we've been marked ever since." Trevor finished the tale for my sister.

"Which is why we're not gonna make the same mistake again." Rose told him. Elena walked to the couch and sat down as they left the room She found a piece of paper and read it before handing it to me. "Stefan and Damon are coming for you" -B

* * *

Later during the day, Trevor entered the room that Elena and I had been held in with Rose as our guard.

"He's here! This was a mistake." Trevor told Rose.

"No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me." Rose told him, trying to calm him down.

"No! He wants me dead, Rose!" Trevor reminded her.

"He wants them more." she said motioning to us.

"I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you but I need to get out of here." Trevor begged her.

"Hey! What are we?" Rose asked him.

"We're family, forever." He said, finally calming down as someone knocked on the door.

"You're scared." Elena noticed.

"Trust me Elena, you would be to." I told her.

"Stay here with them and don't make a sound." She said then she left the room. When she came back a man was following her. Elijah. He rushed to Elena and I and looked at us. I pushed Elena behind me and he bent over and smelt my neck.

"Human and twins. It's impossible." He said looking at the two of us.

"Well not all that impossible, obviously." I told him.

"You are not afraid of me?" he asked giving me a confused look.

"Nope, just met someone who's scarier than you. Klaus." I told me and he looked slightly shocked, but he hid it well.

"We have a long journey head of us. We should be going." He told Elena and myself.

"Please, don't let him take us." Elena begged Rose, but Rose ignored her as did Trevor.

"One last piece of business and we're done." Elijah told us turning and walking to Trevor.

"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly, very sorry." Trevor apologized to him.

"Oh no, your apologies not necessary." Elijah told him walking behind him.

"Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you." Trevor reminded him.

"Oh yes, you are the guilty one and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that now I honor. Where was your loyalty?" Elijah asked him.

"I beg your forgiveness." Trevor asked of him.

"So granted." Elijah told him. Trevor smiled but Elijah kicked his head clean off his body. Rose cried out and Elena grabbed my hand in shock at his actions.

"You…!" Rose went to attack him but he stopped her.

"Don't, Rose, now that you are free." He reminded her before turning back to us. "Come."

"No, what about the moonstone?" Elena asked him, trying to get braver again.

"Shut up, Elena." I told her not bothering to whisper.

"What do you know about the moonstone?" Elijah asked her.

"We know that you need it and we know where it is." She told him.

"Yes?" He asked her wanting the location.

"We can help you get it." She said, trying to negotiate with him.

"Tell me where it is." He ordered her.

"It doesn't work that way." I told him, trying to keep it going.

"Are you negotiating with me?" He asked us looking to Rose.

"It's the first I've heard of it." She told him. He rushed at us again and I pushed Elena on to the sofa as he reached us.

"Where is the Moonstone." He said trying to compel me.

"No." He looked at my lockets and grabbed them looking them over.

"What is this vervain doing around your neck?" He asked. He pulled my lockets off my neck and I tried to pull away from him but he grabbed my head. "Tell me where the moonstone is." He compelled.

"In the tomb, underneath the church ruins." I told him.

"What is it doing there?" He asked me.

"It's with Katherine." I told him once again.

"Interesting." he said looking away from me. A short time later we heard glass breaking from upstairs. "What is that?" Elijah asked Rose.

"I don't know." She told him.

"Who else is in this house?" He asked once more.

"I don't know." She told him again.

"Grab her." He told Rose, motioning to Elena as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to another part of the house. A vampire moved around us with their enhanced speed and Elijah threw me into Rose's unoccupied arm. "Rose." He said warning her for possibly lying to him.

"I don't know who it is." She told him.

"Up here." I heard Stefan say from upstairs. Elijah rushed upstairs but he was gone by the time he got up there.

"Down here." Damon said from next to us. He shot a stake into Elijah's hand and grabbed me and Rose while Stefan grabbed Elena. Damon had his hand over our mouths then removed the hand from my face.

"Excuse me. To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?" Elijah called out into the house. I heard wood breaking and could only assume he was making a stake. "I repeat, you cannot beat me. So I want the girl, either one will do, I'm gonna count to 3 or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?" Elijah called into the house.

"I'll come with you, just please don't my friends and family, they just wanted to help us out." Elena called out to him. I tried pushing against Damon or calling out to Elena but he just pinned me to the wall and placed his hand back on my mouth. He had let Rose go and she sped away.

"What game are you playing with me?" I heard Elijah ask her. I heard something blow and him screaming. Damon let go of me and I rushed to see what was happening. He went toward Elena but Stefan shot him with a compressed air weapon. Stefan then threw the weapon and rushed him and Elena ran to me. Both Elijah and Stefan fell down the stairs but Elijah got up immediately while Stefan stayed down. Elijah started towards Stefan but Damon chose that moment to stake Elijah pinning him against a door. Elena ran down to Stefan and threw herself into his arms as Damon stood next to me.

"Thank you." I told him smiling lightly. I lost my lockets. Inside wasn't just my vervain but also a picture of my parents. In the second one was the only picture of the man I loved and next to it I was going to put my baby's picture. I'd decided to keep it and raise it right.

"Your welcome." Damon said looking down at me.

* * *

Elena and I were walking up the stairs when Bonnie and Jeremy rushed down and tackled us.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked us hugging me.

"We're okay. We're okay." I told him holding on to him tightly. I didn't want to let him do as tears fell down my face.

"We got your message." Elena told Bonnie.

* * *

I walked in my room from the bathroom in my pajamas, thinking about what was lost. When we'd gotten home Elena and I had eaten and talked with Bonnie and Jeremy until Bonnie had to go home. I'd added vervain back into my food. It had been a long time since I had to do that, but I had a supply just in case.

"Cute PJ's." I heard Damon say. I jumped at his voice, I hadn't been expecting anyone.

"I'm tired, Damon." I told him sitting on my bed.

"I brought you this." He said sitting next to me and holding my lockets.

"I thought that was gone. Thank you." I told him smiling at the necklace. I tried to take it from him but he pulled it out of my reach. "Please give it back." I almost begged him, that was important to me.

"I just have to say something." He told me.

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?" I asked suspicious.

"Well, because what I'm about to say is… probably the most selfish thing I have ever said in my life." He told me, looking into my eyes.

"I doubt that, Damon." I told him.

"No, I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you, Nicole and it's because I love you that… I can't be selfish with you. Why you can't know this. I don't deserve you, someone else does." He told me before kissing my forehead. "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this but you do." He tried to compel me to forget and I saw a tear escape his eye. I closed my eyes and felt him put my necklace around my neck then leave. When I opened my eyes, Damon was gone. I touched my necklace and laid back on my bed, my mind was too busy to sleep now.

* * *

_A few months ago:_

"So, there was something I wanted to give you." he told me holding a box in his hands.

"What is it?" I asked him smiling. We'd gone back to his place after our date and were now laying in his bed.

"Why don't you open it and find out." He said handing me the box. I rolled over on my stomach and inspected the box. "It's not going to explode, darling, just open it." I looked at him from the corner of my eye and smiled. I opened the box to see two lockets. Both were gold and had beautiful designs on them. The only difference between them was the chain length and the gems in the middle of them. One held a ruby, red as blood, and the other held lapis lazuli, a stone I was very familiar with.

"Their absolutely gorgeous." I told him smiling at him.

"You didn't see the best part, look inside." I opened them and my heart stopped. Inside one was a picture of him and in the other was my parents, who'd past only a few weeks ago. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I smiled at the pictures. "I thought you'd like this better than anything else I could buy." He told me. "I love you, Nicole. I think I did from the moment I met you." He told me putting the necklace on for me.

"I love you too." I told him, kissing him deeply.


	9. Nicole

**I want to thank all my devoted readers! You are what keeps me going with all my stories. While I love everything I wright your reviews keep a smile on my face and your ideas just might end up in one of the chapters.**

**A request for more Klaus was made so there will be more Klaus in this one. Also she is starting to show and I'm still deciding on when she should have the baby cause it can't stay in forever, lol. If anyone has any suggestions then that would be awesome.**

**I wanted to specifically thank Sissymac, RosesMoon, ThePhantomismy, HAPPYS WIFE QUINNS DAUGHTER, winxgirl1997, Bronzelove and a guest**** for their reviews since the last update.**

**Sanura Bey**

* * *

_Three years ago_

"Do you even know how you're going to get Klaus to trust you?" Katherine asked me as we sat at a bar drinking and walking.

"That's where you're supposed come in. Teach me everything you know then we come up with a plan to set you free." I told her. "What are we doing here anyway?" I asked her.

"We're meeting a friend of mine. You know her." Katherine told me.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me you got my sister involved." I warned her.

"No. I wouldn't want her on this. But it is a family member of ours." She told me looking around the bar.

"Who? We don't have a lot of family." I reminded her taking another drink.

"Nicole Gilbert meet Isobel Fleming. Isobel meet your daughter." I turned and saw a woman who I hadn't seen since I was born.

"Hello Nicole."

"Hello Mother."

* * *

Present:

Elena knocked on the door to the Salvatore house while I played with my necklace.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked me.

"Of course I am." I told her putting my lockets down so they rested against my bare skin.

"Hello, Elena. Nicole." Damon greeted when he opened the door.

"Is Stefan here? He called. He said it was important." Elena told him.

"Right this way." He said moving aside for us. We walked into the house as Stefan walked into the entryway.

"Hey." He greeted us but all eyes were for Elena.

"What is this about?" She asked as Rose walked into view. "You." Elena looked at her shocked. We all walked into the living room and Elena plopped herself onto the couch.

"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real." Rose told us.

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"He's one of the originals, he's a legend." Damon told her.

"From the first generation of vampires." Stefan clarified for her.

"Like Elijah?" Elena asked us.

"No. When it comes to the chain of command Elijah is up there but Klaus is at the top. Hes the king, for lack of a better term." I told them pacing in front of the couch.

"Klaus is known to be the oldest vampire in existence." Stefan told her.

"Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me and Nicole?" Elena asked looking the the three vampires.

"Yes." Rose and I told her.

"No." Stefan corrected us.

"What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true…" Damon said looking at Rose.

"Which it is." Rose told him.

"And you're not saying it so I don't kill you" Damon continued.

"Which I'm not" Rose told him.

"Then we're looking at a solid maybe." Damon said looking at me.

"Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist." Stefan said looking between the tow of us.

"Not that you know of." I told him.

"That's not helping." Damon told me.

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story." Stefan told us.

"He's real, Stefan, and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot. I met Klaus. I can tell you what's true and what isn't." I said pushing him back. The odd thing was he moved back quite a bit.

"Alright, we're shaking. You made your point." Damon said looking between me and his brother. After a moment Elena got off the couch.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked her finally taking confused eyes off me.

"School. I'm late." She told him grabbing her bag.

"Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you." He said moving from his spot in the living room.

"It's okay, I know where it is." She told him, leaving us all in the living room.

* * *

"So what was with that little stunt in the living room this morning?" Damon asked me as I sat on his couch. He offered me a glass of whiskey but I pushed him away. I was already forced to wear something of Jenna's just to hide my pregnancy; I didn't need to be a bad mother on top of that.

"What stunt?" I asked him feigning ignorance.

"C'mon, when you pushed Stefan. There was a little bit of extra strength in it." He told me. I looked away from him towards anywhere but him.

"Look I gotta go. I have a doctor's appointment today." I told him, lying through my teeth

"Yeah sure. Call me, tell me how it goes?" he asked me, giving me an expecting look.

"Sure, Damon. I'll tell you how it goes." I said smiling at him. I quickly left his house and drove off. I had to get somewhere private so I could make my phone call. As I drove I thought about what I was going to say or do. He wouldn't stop texting me, I had hundreds of missed calls. Did he know? How could he? How did he even find the doctor in the first place? How did he know I was alive? How could we have been so stupid to think we would get away with this? Katherine knew better than I did, even I knew better than this. "Damn it!" I hit my hand against the steering wheel. I parked my car alongside the forest and jumped out. I walked into the forest, making sure I still had phone signal as I walked. This would be a long conversation. I dialed the familiar number and waited for an answer.

"Yes?"

"Hello Nik."

* * *

_A few months ago:_

My phone rang off the hook that morning. I was in Nik's warm embrace and just wanted to forget the phone and the plan.

"Nikky, please turn it off." Nik begged me. I rolled out of his arms and grabbed my phone off the night stand.

"Hello?"

"Is this Nicole Gilbert?" a mans voice asked on the other line.

"Yes, who is this?" I asked sitting up. I covered myself up with the blanket.

"This is David with San Antonio Clinic. I'm calling about the receptionist position. Would you be able to come in for an interview today?" He asked me. This was it. Katherine's plan was going into effect now.

"Sure, tell me when you want me there."

* * *

_Present:_

"Nicole Gilbert. How long has it been since I heard from you?" Nik said, I could hear his pain as well as his smirk.

"Couple months or so. That was the plan, kinda backfired though." I told him

"How is this possible? How are you alive?" he asked me, pain leaking through in waves.

"Witch cast a little spell. Saved my ass." I told him looking around making sure I was alone.

"I should have known Katarina would have a witch with her." he said. "But you have a secret don't you? A secret that affects everything about my plans."

"It's not a secret if you know it." I told him.

"You misunderstand, love. Even compelled the doctor wouldn't tell me what your secret is." He told me.

"That's good to know, thanks for the tip."

"What is it?"

* * *

_A few months ago:_

I got up and went to the dresser after having written the false time and place of the interview. I got some of my clothes out of his dresser that I moved into his place a little while back.

"You don't have to go you know." He told me as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"And why's that?" I asked him.

"I'll take care of you. You'd never have to work just tell me what you want, and I'll get it for you." He told me and I smiled.

"Yes, but then what if you're busy? I want something to do during the day." I told him pulling on my pants with difficulty. He moved back and sat on the bed as I dressed.

"I could give you something to do during the day." he told me with a lust filled look.

"That can only be done so many times before one of us either tires or is in too much pain." I laughed at him.

"I think we could arrange something if that happened. Why do you want a job anyway?" he asked me.

"Like I said, it'd just be something to do during the day. It's an 8-5 position, no late nights nothing too early in the morning. It's perfect for me." I told him straddling his lap.

"Spend your days helping people then spend your nights helping me?" He asked me and I laughed.

"Something like that." I told him.

"Just be careful on the roads and in the office. Humans are idiots." he warned me.

"Yes, but what are we if not the same race? Humans's have such a short life that we have to be idiots." I told him.

"What if you could be something other than human?" he asked me. His expression was serious as a heart attack. I'd never imagined that he'd ask me this question.

"How can we not be human? What else could we be?"

* * *

_Present:_

"I'm waiting, Nicole." he told me

"I bet you are, Nik."

* * *

_A few months ago:_

"Let's talk about this later. Tonight at dinner." he told me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I wasn't aware we made plans." I told him.

"I made a reservations for us." he told me and my smile faltered before perking back up.

"Where at?" I asked him. If he kept the reservation then he would be dinning alone.

"It's a surprise." he told me pulling me closer to him.

"Tell me." I said trying to convince him.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." He told me smiling. It wasn't often he smiled at someone, but when he did he looked almost angelic.

"Maybe I don't like surprises." I told him

"You and I both know better than that." he told me giving me a look.

"Oh, very well. Keep it a secret." I told him giving him a small kiss. "I have to go, or I'll be late." I told him trying to pull awau.

"Then be late. Don't get hired." He told me holding me tight enough to keep me in place without hurting me.

"I want this job, Nik. Please let me go to the interview?" I asked him giving him my best puppy dog look. He laughed at my face and released his grip.

"Okay, if this is what you want. I love you." He told me before I left the room.

"I love you to Nik. I'll see you later." I gave him a kiss and left.

* * *

_Present:_

"Tell me, what are you hiding from me?" he asked me keeping his voice as calm as possible.

"I'm pregnant, Nik." I finally told him

"So, not only did you kill yourself you cheated on me also." he said drawing his own situation.

"Nope, I didn't sleep with anyone but you. It's your baby Nik. You're going to be a father." I told him. He was silent on the other end for quite some time. "Say something, Nik."

* * *

_A few months ago:_

"I walked out to the car that Katherine had sent to me. The driver was compelled to do her part as I was prepared to do mine.

"Drive." the compelled woman drove to the false interview. If everything had gone to according to the plan we'd made three years ago, then these were my final moments. My phone started ringing and it was him. I took a deep calming breathe and answered it.

"I just left our place and now you're calling me again?" I asked him.

"Please tell me your not driving." he said on the other end.

"I'm not. A friend of mine had some shopping to do in the area so she's driving me to the interview and waiting until I get done. Then I'm doing some shopping for tonight. It is our anniversary, remember?" I asked him.

"Of course I remember." he said after a slight pause.

"Niklaus Mickalson. Did you forget our anniversary already? I reminded you last night as well." I said laughing lightly. I watched the lights turn from green to yellow to red then back to green. Soon.

"Why do you think I made the special reservation?" he asked me. I looked out the driver's window and watched as the 18-wheeler made its way to us, running the red light. It blew it's horn at us, signaling us it was here.

"Watch out!" I screamed for Nik to hear. Then the crash came. It wasn't quick like people say it is, it hurt like hell and the phone in my hand had Nik screaming my name. I knew he would try to get to me and I knew he would be too late. I felt my world go black as I whispered one last word.

"Nik..."

Everything went dark and silent.

* * *

_Present:_

"How could I be a father? I can't have children like this." he reminded me.

"And there aren't supposed to be twin doppelgangers, but here I am." I reminded him.

"How long have you known?" he asked me.

"Right before you started talking to me again." I told him.

"Vampires can't have children, Nikky." he said, trying to take it all in.

"I know, Nik. Maybe whatever out there decided to create two doppelgangers decided to give you a try at being a father." I told him

"I won't be a good one." he told me.

"How do you know until you give it a try? You have to wait for the child to be born before you can decide if you'll be a good father or not." I told him, trying to comfort him.

"What plan were you going to use on me?" he asked me. I bit my lip for a moment, thinking how to answer.

"I was to make you fall in love with me, then die, then take my twins place in the sacrifice." I told him and he was silent.

"Has our child changed your mind? Will you live for it?" He asked me. He sounded worried, like I was going to leave him all alone with the baby. I laughed a little

"I won't leave you alone with our baby Nik. I'm going to be the best mother I can be with the best man I could ask for a father for my baby." I told him. After a few more moments talking about what we'd been doing the past few months and the baby I hung up on him. It was like we'd never been separated. I drove back him to see Elena and Stefan hugging each other on the porch. I'll have to tell them, soon.


	10. The Sacrifice

I stood on the stairs as Elena opened the front door to find Stefan and Damon were standing on our front porch.

"Hey. Uh, can we talk?" Stefan asked her looking between the two of us.

"Why?" I asked them.

"We went to see Katherine." Damon told us.

"Come on in." Elena said stepping aside letting them both in. We all walked into the kitchen around the island and waited for the boys to tell their story.

"We told her we wanted the moonstone and she wanted to make a deal with us." Stefan told us.

"But I thought she wanted to stay in there." I said looking at the two of them.

"She got bored. She offered to give us the moonstone and if we got Bonnie to let her out. Her trade was that she would leave Mystic Falls forever." Stefan told us.

"You don't believe her, do you?" Elena asked them.

"No, of course not. We just want the moonstone." Damon told us.

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Stefan explained.

"No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice. Ergo, the two of you live." Damon told us.

"How do you destroy it?" I asked getting myself a glass of milk.

"By releasing it from the moonstone." Stefan told us.

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?" Elena asked them.

"Cause we have a crafty witch on our side." Damon told us.

"You discussed it with Bonnie." Elena said but you could tell by her tone of her voice she knew he hadn't.

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us." Stefan told her.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you." Elena told them.

"We're gonna get it from her." Stefan told us.

"Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hand if we have to." Damon corrected.

"Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for her to return it." Stefan told us.

"Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out." I said looking between the two of them.

"Yep. We're awesome." Damon told me smirking.

"Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it." Elena told them.

"Make that 'I' a 'we'." I told them as they exchanged looks.

"What are you talking about? Elena, Nikky, we don't have a choice." Stefan told us.

"What about Klaus?" I asked him.

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone." he told me.

"Is that before or after he kills everyone that we care about, including the two of you." I said pointing to the two of them. Damon's face looked startled at my words and I looked away quickly. The memory he doesn't want me to have still fresh in my mind.

"Nikky, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save both your lives." Stefan told me.

"I know. Everybody keeps saying that. Don't you realize that I left so I could die for Elena's safety? I never intended to live much longer after I came back home." I told them.

"Then you got pregnant and if you die your baby dies with you. I wont let that happen." Elena said as she left the room with me right behind her leaving Stefan and Damon in the kitchen.

* * *

Elena and I opened the front door to the Salvatore house and walked in. She shut the door behind us and looked around the hallway. Rose chose that moment to come down the stairs tying a silk robe around her.

"It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning." Rose said before looking up and seeing us. "Whoa. Sorry, I thought you were…" she broke off looking at us. Elena looked away from her, embarrassed.

"I, uh, sorry, I…" Elena stuttered.

"There's no one else here." Rose told us.

"Actually, we came to talk to you." I told her hiding this bad feeling I got.

"Then I should probably get dressed." Rose said smiling broadly before walking down the stairs. As soon as she was dressed she came back down and we all sat in the living room talking.

"It's a bad idea." Rose told us.

"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it." Elena told her.

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it." Rose reminded us.

"There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it." Elena told her.

"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose asked looking at the two of us.

"Because I only slept with the guy and you owe us. One word from us, and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping us." I told her and she stared at me.

"Or maybe it's because you both know that they wouldn't want you two doing this. And their moonstone caper gives you twp a chance to sneak away." Rose said finally looking away from me.

"We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that we love and we're not." Elena told her.

"They're just trying to protect you." Rose told us.

"And you've proven that you couldn't care less whether we're protected or not. So, we're back to you taking us to Slater." I told her. Rose sat down on the couch next to Elena and I.

"What exactly do the two of you hope to achieve by this?" she asked us.

"How would you like to be able to walk during the daylight?" I asked her.

"I've been a slave to shadows for 500 years, what do you think?" she asked giving me a look.

"I think I know a witch who's willing to do whatever it takes to help, if you're willing to make a deal." I told her smirking.

* * *

We parked in an underground parking lot below where Rose told us Slater lived. We ascended the staircase to his apartment and Rose banged her fist on the door while Elena and I stood nearby.

"Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!" Rose called. After a brief moment, Rose looked at us. "He's not home. Sorry." she said trying to get us to leave.

"Mm-mm. No. We didn't come all the way out here for nothing." Elena said. Rose sighed and pushed the door open using her vampire strength. We looked inside the apartment and Rose gestured into the room.

"After you." Rose told us. I walked into the apartment with Elena and Rose following suit. Rose wandered farther into the apartment than we did, looking for Slater. "Slater?" she called as she moved. "I don't think he's gonna be much help." Elena and I rushed over to where Rose stood and saw Slater's dead body. Rose walked over to Slater's body and drug it away from us. I walked over to Slater's computer desk and picked up a bunch of papers.

"Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information." I said as I shuffled through the papers as I heard Rose and Elena walked up behind me.

"Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass." Rose told us. I shuffled through a few more papers before picking up a framed photo of Slater and a girl. Rose walked away from us and pulled back the curtains.

"What are you…?" Elena asked her.

"Tempered glass. U.V. rays can't penetrate." Rose told us, looking out the window. "I used to just come here and watch the day." she told us. I looked back to the photo before looking back to Rose.

"I'm sorry about Slater." I told her.

"Any luck?" she asked me. I placed the photo back on the desk and tried to log into one of the computers.

"It's password protected. I can't get in." I told them.

"No, this is fine. Let's just go." Rose said. Suddenly, we heard a doorknob rattling from inside the apartment. "Stay here." Rose ordered. Rose walked past us and opened a set of doors. She peered into the small hallway.

"Alice?" Rose asked.

"Rose!" I heard a girl call out. The girl, Alice, rushed to Rose and embraced her. "He's dead!" Rose comforted Alice as Alice tried to regain her composure. I stood close to Elena as she made tea for her and Alice.

"She found him a few minutes before we did." Rose told us.

"How is she?" Elena asked her.

"Overreacting. Big time." Rose said rolling her eyes.

"Her boyfriend just died. There's no such thing as overreacting." Elena told Rose.

"Those tears are for her. She didn't care about Slater." Rose told us and I looked at her curiously. "She was only dating him long enough to see if he'd turn her." I turned to look at Alice, an idea forming in my mind. I grabbed a cup of tea and walked to the room towards Alice then handed it to her with a small smile.

"Thank you." Alice said taking the cup as I sat down next to her. She looked at me as though trying to remember who I was.

"You look really familiar. Did you know Slater?" Alice asked me.

"Not personally, no. I just knew that he kept detailed records of all of his vampire contacts and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus." I told her seeing Elena and Rose standing not to far away.

"Doubtful. Klaus doesn't want to be pointed at." Alice told me.

"Do you know Slater's computer password?" I asked her.

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart." Alice told me getting offended that I would ask something like that.

"I understand that. Do you know his password?" I asked her again.

"Who do you think you are?" she asked me looking away from me.

"What if I could convince Rose to turn you?" I asked her and she looked back to me. I saw Rose and Elena look at me like I was crazy. "Will you show us his files then?" Alice rushed to Slater's computer and logged on with the three of us behind her, watching.

"Someone's been here. The hard drive's completely wiped out." Alice told us.

"Yeah, probably whoever killed him." Rose told us. Elena ran a hand over her face and turned away from the computer.

"Lucky for you, Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a remote server." Alice told us and I smirked before Rose pulled me away.

"You know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?" Rose asked me softly.

"I know. She doesn't." I said looking back at her. I walked back to Alice missing the smile. I leaned down next to Alice to look at the computer screen.

"Kristen Stewart. God, was he obvious." Alice said as I watched a lot of files come up.

"These are all leads to vampires?" Elena asked her as she continued scrolling though the files.

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." Alice told us.

"What about that one? Cody Webber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah." Rose pointed out.

"I could call him." Alice suggested looking at me. I picked up the phone and handed it to her.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus." I told her as she too the phone.

"The doppelgängers are alive and they're ready to surrender." Elena told her.

"What?!" Rose asked looking at the two of us.

"Oh, my God, I knew I recognized you." Alice said smiling at Elena and I.

"Get him the message, now." I told her walking out of the room with Elena and Rose behind me. Elena placed her hands on a table and exhaled heavily. "It'll be okay, Elena. As long as we stay together, we'll be okay." I told her rubbing her back.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked us.

"Getting Klaus' attention." I told her.

"If Klaus knows that you're alive, he'll find you and he'll kill you." she told me. Elena held my hand tightly while I looked back at Rose, neither of us saying anything. "Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

"It's either us or our family." Elena told her.

"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you two could sacrifice yourselves and save everyone else?" Rose asked us as Alice entered the room.

"Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you." she told us smiling. Rose shut her eyes and sighed. We all waited for Cody to come. I squeezed Elena's shoulder as she gazed out the window. I suddenly saw Elijah's face coming towards us in the window. We both gasped and turned around quickly but saw no one. I went to get some water and gave it to her. She walked into the main room and looked over at Alice then gasped. I looked in her direction and saw Damon was here.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked looking at the two of us.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked him as Rose entered the room. I turned and looked angrily at her.

"You called him?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry, Elena. Nicole." she told us.

"You said that you understood." I said.

"She lied." he told me. I turned back around and looked at him as Alice walked up to us, star struck.

"Damon Salvatore." Alice said.

"Get rid of her." Damon told Rose.

"No. Way." Rose grabbed Alice's arm and led her out of the room.

"Come on. We're leaving." Damon said grabbing our arms.

"No." Elena said fighting him.

"I said we're leaving." Damon told her.

"I'm not going with you." Elena fought him harder.

"You do not get to make decisions anymore." Damon told her.

"When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision." Elena told him.

"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?" Damon asked her and I pulled my arm out of his grip.

"You're not listening to her, Damon. We don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that we love." I told him.

"Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself." Damon ordered us. Damon grasped my arm tighter and I struggled to release myself from his grip. I finally pulled my arm out of his grip and got out of his reach.

"No!" Elena yelled throwing a punch at Damon. Damon clutched her fist in his hand and moved in towards her.

"Don't ever do that again." Damon told her releasing her fist from his grasp and walked away. I went to Elena and looked at her hand as she stood there, horrified about what happened. Damon then walked to the bedroom where Alice and Rose were and closed the doors. When Damon came out he walked straight to us with Rose right behind him. "Time to go. Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day." Suddenly, the front doors burst open and three men walked into the apartment. Damon and Rose turned to look at them.

"We're here to meet the doppelgänger." The man in front told us.

"Thank you for coming." Elena said attempting to walk towards them, but Damon pushed her back.

"I will break your arm." Damon whispered to her before looking at the head guy. "There's nothing here for you." the man in the back suddenly dropped to the floor, dead. Elijah was standing where he had bad holding his heart. The other two vampires looked back at Elijah as he used his speed to get in between them, looking from one to the other. I heard Rose gasp and run away as Elijah looked to us. "I killed you. You were dead." Damon told him.

"For centuries now." Elijah told us before looking to the man in front. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the first man asked him.

"I'm Elijah."

"We were gonna bring them to you. For Klaus. They're the doppelgängers. I don't know how they exists, but they do. Klaus will want to see them." the first one said.

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" Elijah asked him.

"No." the first one told him.

"Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful." Elijah said as he plunged his arm's into the two vampire's chest. They both grunted as Elijah ripped out their hearts and they fell to the floor, dead. Elijah let their hears drop from his hands. Damon prepared to fight with Elijah, but Elijah shocked us buy turning around and rushing out of the apartment. Damon looked at Elena and I, we all had shocked expressions on our faces.

* * *

Damon Elena and I walked up the steps to the house and we turned to him.

"Thank you for bringing me home." Elena sighed.

"Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded." Damon told her and she went inside.

"Rose was just scared. She didn't mean to run." I told him standing in the doorway.

"Yes, she did. She's been running for 500 years." Damon told me.

"I can't believe Elijah's alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just let us go?" I asked him.

"If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me." Damon said leaving off the rest of the saying. I moved to go inside but Damon caught my arm before I could go all the way in and turned me to I could face him. "What you and your sister did today was incredibly stupid." he told me.

"Actually, the only thing that was stupid was that we got caught." I told him wriggling my arm out of his grasp and he let me go. "I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save us. You shouldn't question why we would try to save all of you." I told him. I heard footsteps running towards me but didn't turn to them. "Damon, good night, okay?" I said and I was about to enter the house but stopped when I saw Jeremy and Elena's face.

"What?" Damon asked them.

"It's Stefan." Elena told me, tears breaking to the surface.

* * *

Elena bolted down the stairs of the tomb and she rushed towards the cave and looked in, but saw no one.

"Stefan! Stefan!" I heard her call our as I walked down the steps. Elena tried to enter the cave when I saw Damon come from behind her, grab her, and pin her against the wall.

"Don't you dare." Damon told he.

"Stefan's in there, Damon! How could you let this happen?" Elena asked him.

"What are you talking about? I was too busy saving you and your sister from you and your sister's crazy kamikaze mission." Damon told her.

"You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place!" Elena told him.

"It was the right call, Elena." Damon told her.

"The right call? How was any of this the right call?!" Elena asked him hitting him with her fists. "Damon, let go of me! Damon, let go of me! Let go of me! Let go of me!" I watched her repeatedly beat her fist into Damon's chest who kept a calm face and restrained her. Elena became tired and desperately looked up at Damon. I stood next to him and she turned to me. "Please." she begged us.

"Are you done?" I asked her. She just breathed heavily but didn't say a word as Damon released her from his grip and backed up. Elena looked back into the cave and started to move toward it. I held my hand up and blocked her. "Don't." I told her. Elena looked at me and slapped me hard before stomping out of the tomb in a rage.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked me as I watched her go. I nodded and looked to the cave as Stefan walked over to the entrance.

"Of all the idiot plans, Stefan." Damon said.

"Yeah." Stefan said looking at us.

"We'll find a way to get you out." I told him

"Ah, it's all right. I'll handle myself. Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her. Try to figure out how to de-spell it." he told us.

"You martyr yourself in a tomb and I get partnered with a semi-competent witch. Wonderful." Damon said and I hit his arm.

"Keep Elena away from here." Stefan asked us.

"Yeah. Cause that'll be easy." Damon said.

"Promise me. No matter what happens. You'll protect her." Stefan said looking from me to his brother.

"Promise." Damon told him. Damon left the tomb with me behind him. I looked back and watched Katherine emerge from the back of the tomb. She nodded her head at me and I turned away from her and followed Damon the rest of the way out.


End file.
